IlC 231 
.P25 
1920 
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COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 



COMMUNITY CENTER 
ACTIVITIES 



BY 

CLARENCE ARTHUR PERRY 

It) 




DEPARTMENT OF RECREATION 

RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION 

130 EAST TWENTY-SECOND STREET 

NEW YORK CITY 



Recl48 



t \ °^V6 ^ 



7-20-10 



LC^-3 1 



Copyright, 1916, by 
russell sage foundation 



Printed January, 1917 

Reprinted October, 1917 

Reprinted July, 1920 



GIFT 

PUSLISHPI? 



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WM • F. FELL CO • PRINTERS 
PHILADELPHIA 



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2i 



PREFACE 

5^ In compiling this handbook, the work of search- 
ing out activities and assembhng references has 
been performed largely by Miss Marguerita P. 
Williams. Of this and valued assistance in 
editing and revising the manuscript the Author 
makes grateful acknowledgment. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 
Q 

Introduction 

Activities for Stated Spaces ^^ 

Section 

I. Civic Occasions 

II. Educational Occasions ^^ 

III. Entertainments ^^ 

IV. Handicrafts ^^ 

V. Mental Contests ^^ 

VI. Neighborhood Service 70 

VII. Physical Activities "^^ 

VIII. Social Occasions • • ^^ 

IX. Club and Society Meetings 9^ 

X. Voluntary Classes 1^^ 

Sample Programs ^^J 

Publishers' Names and Addresses 11^ 

... lOK 

Index to Activities ^ 



INTRODUCTION 

The purpose of this handbook is to suggest activities 
for after-school occasions and to indicate sources of 
information about them. The material is arranged 
in such a way as to serve readily community-center 
officials who view problems of organization ob- 
jectively, who regard themselves as trustees of cer- 
tain spaces and facilities in a school building which 
they are to utilize for the enhancement of the neigh- 
borhood's conunon life. A director with such a 
viewpoint might deliberate thus: "Here we have an 
assembly hall, a kindergarten and a playroom to use. 
Let me see. . . . What I want to know is this: 
What things can be done in these spaces? Of the 
things that are possible, which do our people wish 
to do? Of the desired things, which can our staff 
handle? In general, where can I get ideas for pro- 
grams; where can I go for detailed information about 
all sorts of activities?'' These questions— especially 
the first and the last — are those which this handbook 
is designed to answer. 

Following the Introduction, lists of practicable 
school-center activities are presented, arranged ac- 
cording to the spaces in which they can be carried 
on. If a director wishes a check list of the various 

[9] 



INTRODUCTION 

kinds of activities available for a kindergarten he can 
turn to page 17 and find it. Such lists are provided 
for fourteen types of school-building spaces. Op- 
posite each activity is given the page upon which in- 
formation about it is set forth. 

The classification of the activities under "Civic 
Occasions/' "Educational Occasions," "Entertain- 
ments," etc., is not to be regarded too literally. Ob- 
viously, many activities which are educational are 
also entertaining, and many of a social character 
have civic aspects as well. If the various divisions 
facilitate reference they serve their main purpose. 

Of course, all the activities mentioned under a 
given head cannot go on in the stated space simul- 
taneously. In most instances, only one kind of 
activity can go on at a time in the space mentioned, 
but there are cases in which several can be combined 
in a single evening's program. Some of the activities 
suggested for certain spaces will seem odd to persons 
having in mind the accommodations of their own 
schools. The suggestions, for example, for corridor 
use, may seem incongruous to those in whose school 
buildings these spaces are narrow and dark. But 
to those acquainted with schoolhouses where the cor- 
ridors are wide and well-lighted — which is the case 
in many cities — the activities listed will not seem 
inappropriate. As a matter of fact, rooms of the 
same name vary greatly in schools throughout the 
country. In Milwaukee the assembly halls have 
movable seats, and basket ball and other vigorous 
games are regularly played in them, but in other 

[10] 



INTRODUCTION 

auditoriums such activities would be unthinkable. 
Accordingly, it is not claimed that all of the activi- 
ties mentioned are everywhere practicable in the 
spaces stated, but it is believed that the activities 
listed are all feasible in some of the rooms of the vari- 
ous types. 

This handbook does not pretend to furnish techni- 
cal information. Here and there bits are to be found. 
But since books already exist in which complete 
working instructions for the various activities are 
given, the effort here has been to put the reader in 
connection with the best of these sources. Care 
has been taken to ascertain that all of the books re- 
ferred to are now (at date of publication) in print, 
and since pamphlets usually have a briefer term of 
availability than bound volumes, references have 
been made to them in only a few necessary instances. 

With but two or three exceptions — such as the read- 
ing room or games room — the components of school- 
center occasions are always one or more clusters of 
people held together by some central activity in which 
all are participating or by which the attention of all is 
engaged. The theory therefore underlying this book 
is that community-center work consists mainly in 
organizing and developing group activities. This is 
accomplished in the several ways of giving accommo- 
dations to groups which already have leaders, of find- 
ing leaders for groups which have none, and of bring- 
ing people into group relations who are not already en- 
joying them. The activity is the cement which holds 
the individuals together in the group unit. Naturally 

[11] 



INTRODUCTION 

there must be a fairly close adaptation of the activity 
to the needs and capacities of its group if the relation- 
ship is to have even a short duration. A lecture that 
goes over the heads of the audience or for some other 
reason fails to interest, is a group-relation that has 
already begun to disintegrate. A school center does 
not operate under a compulsory-attendance law. If 
people attend, it is attraction that brings them. 

With some groups congeniality is the binding tie. 
Such will engage in any activity which is agreeable 
to the majority. Other groups cohere solely be- 
cause of the activity and in spite of personal uncon- 
genialities. The detection of the former groups is 
a matter of observation. The latter, on the other 
hand, are often latent and invisible, but they can 
generally be made to emerge into sight by dangling 
before the neighborhood a series of group-action 
opportunities. **How many would like to join a 
chorus if there were one? Or a dramatic club?'' 
Bait of this character will sooner or later bring a 
"rise" from the interested ones and thus the ma- 
terial for the new group becomes distinguishable and 
ready for organization. 

To be a successful fisher for new groups a director 
does not need to be a skilled leader in all or even a 
majority of the main school-center activities. His 
job is that of setting other people in motion, and he 
does it not through the power of authority but 
through the power of knowledge and suggestion. 
Accordingly he does need certain kinds of knowl- 
edge about a large number of activities, such as the 

[12] 



INTRODUCTION 

kinds of physical or psychical satisfaction they af- 
ford, what classes of people they suit, the qualifica- 
tions required for leadership and among what types 
of people leaders may be found. He does not, for 
example, need to be an accomplished performer of 
folk-dances. But an acquaintanceship with the 
various kinds of folk-dancing, their distinctive values, 
what kinds of instrumental and spatial equipment 
they respectively require and where to look for 
qualified instructors will enable him to promote this 
activity in his center. 

Aside from his official staff the school-center 
director may find other helpers among two classes 
of persons, (1) those who have special knowledge or 
skill to impart, and (2) those with some gift of per- 
sonality, faith or enthusiasm. The former include 
dramatic coaches, dancing instructors, chorus di- 
rectors, drawing teachers and many others of the 
professional and craftsman classes. The latter are 
the reformers, the leaders of social movements and 
the many men and women of unusual public spirit 
or devotion to human welfare. The services of the 
former must usually be purchased with money, and 
with skilful management this expense can generally 
be placed directly upon the consumers. The second 
class of helpers receive their pay in prestige, the satis- 
faction of ambition, and various sorts of spiritual 
rewards. The moving spirit of a neighborhood im- 
provement association may boast of the amount of 
work for the community he is doing for nothing. In 
a monetary sense he may be stating a fact, but he is 

[13] 



INTRODUCTION 

overlooking the pleasure he receives from the con- 
sciousness of public service performed and from the 
larger influence and opportunity incidental to his 
connection with the organization. 

In every community there are many persons with 
genuine impulses toward altruistic activity. Of such 
are composed the large body of Sunday-school 
teachers and the volunteer leaders of social-settle- 
ment clubs. There is no reason why the same sources 
of leadership should not be more generally tapped by 
school-center officials. A little searching among suc- 
cessful lawyers, business men or college women will 
often discover an individual to whom the needs of a 
gang of boys or of a club of worthy but handicapped 
youths will make an irresistible appeal. In asking 
for the hour-and-a-half , one-night-a-week service for 
such a group the director will be oftenest successful 
if he presents his case squarely as a privilege and an 
opportunity to secure the rewards of unselfish ser- 
vice and the gratitude of growing human beings. 
No group will hold together long unless both leader 
and members get something out of the relation. 
Success in school-center engineering depends upon 
building group structures in which the mutuality of 
the benefit is real and clearly perceived by both of 
the composing elements. Since the activity is the 
point of contact for both leader and members, its 
selection becomes a matter of vital importance. 
Here is where this handbook comes in to do what it 
can. 



[14] 



ACTIVITIES FOR STATED SPACES 
ASSEMBLY ROOM 



Page 

CIVIC OCCASIONS 24 

Forum 24 

Memorial exercises 27 

Mock city council 27 

Mock legislature 28 

Mock naturalization hear- 
ings 29 

New citizens' receptions . 29 
Patriotic celebrations ... 30 

Public discussions 31 

Receptions to officials ... 33 
Society meetings (see 
list) 33, 96 

EDUCATIONAL OCCA- 
SIONS 35 

Conferences 36 

Exhibitions 36 

Lectures 36 

Loan art exhibits 37 

Talks 38 

Welfare exhibits 38 



ENTERTAINMENTS 40 

Amateur nights 40 

Cantatas 40 

Choral singing 41 

Concerts 42 

Dialogues 42 

Exhibition drills 42 

Feature dancing 43 

Festivals 43 

Holiday celebrations .... 44 

Impersonations 45 

Lantern slides 46 

Legerdemain 46 

Masques 46 

Minstrels 47 

Monologues 47 

Motion pictures 47 

Musical sketches 48 

Nights of all nations .... 48 

Operettas 48 

[15 1 



Page 
ENTERTAINMENTS 

(Continued) 

Pageants 48 

Pantomimes 50 

Readings 50 

Rehearsals 50 

Singing-society contests 50 

Story-telling 51 

Stunt nights 52 

Tableaux 52 

Theatricals 52 

Vaudeville 54 

Wax works 54 

Welsh Eisteddfod bur- 
lesque 55 

MENTAL CONTESTS. . . 65 
Arithmetical calcula- 
tions 65 

Checkers tournaments. . 66 

Chess matches 66 

Debates 66 

Declamation contests ... 67 
Dramatic-club tourna- 
ments 68 

English -grammar con- 
tests 68 

Essay competitions 68 

Mock trials 69 

Pronunciation matches . 69 
Spelling bees 69 



Story -telling contests . . 69 

RECREATIONAL OCCA- 
SIONS 
If seats are movable, 
many activities men- 
tioned under Play- 
room, Physical Ac- 
tivities (q. v., page 20) 
can be carried on in 
the Assembly Room. 



ACTIVITIES FOR STATED SPACES 
Assembly Room (Continued) 



Page 

SOCIAL OCCASIONS. . . 89 

Banquets 89 

Celebrations 90 

Charades 91 

Dances 91 

Fake athletic meet .... 92 

Fortune -telling 92 



Page 
SOCIAL OCCASIONS 
(Continued) 

Mock auction 92 

Mock county fair 92 

Parties (see list) 92 

Party games (see list) . . 93 



GYMNASIUM 



PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES 

Apparatus work 

Archery 

Athletic feats 

Bag-punching 

Ball games (see list) . . . 

Basket ball 

Boxing 

Calisthenics 

Drills 

Esthetic dancing 

Fencing 

Folk-dancing 

Games: See Ball, Mis- 
cellaneous and Sing- 
ing games 
Gymnastic competitions 

Jiu jitsu 

Miscellaneous games. . 

Races (see list) 

Roller-skating 

Singing games 

Tumbling 

Wrestling 

EDUCATIONAL OCCA- 
SIONS 

Exhibitions 

Lectures 

Loan art exhibits 

Talks 

Welfare exhibits 



76 
79 
79 
79 
80 
80 
81 
82 
82 
83 
83 
83 
83 



85 
85 
85 
86 
87 
87 
88 
88 



35 
36 
36 
37 
38 
38 
[16 



ENTERTAINMENTS 

Many of the activities 
mentioned under this 
head for Assembly 
Room (q. v., page 15) 
can be carried on in a 
Gymnasium if seats 
and a platform are 
available. 

MENTAL CONTESTS . . 65 

Checkers tournaments. 66 

Chess matches 66 

Dramatic-club tourna- 
ments 68 

Mock trials 69 

Pronunciation matches. 69 

Spelling bees 69 

Story-telling contests . . 69 



SOCIAL OCCASIONS. 

Banquets 

Bazaars 

Celebrations 

Charades 

Dances 

Fake athletic meet . . . 

Fortune-telling 

Mock auction 

Mock county fair. . . . 
Parties (see list) .... 
Party games (see list) 

1 



89 
89 
90 
90 
91 
91 
92 
92 
92 
92 
92 
93 



ACTIVITIES FOR STATED SPACES 



Gymnasium (Continued) 



Page 

MEETINGS 96 

Athletic clubs 97 

Boy Scouts 97 

Boys' clubs 98 

Camp Fire Girls 99 



Page 
MEETINGS (Continued) 

Girl Scouts 100 

Girls' clubs 101 

Society meetings (see 
list) 33, 96 



KINDERGARTEN 



CIVIC OCCASIONS 
Many of the activities 
mentioned under this 
head for Assembly 
Room (q. v., page 15) 
can be carried on in 
the Kindergarten if 
former is not avail- 
able. 

CLUB AND SOCIETY 
MEETINGS 

Alumni association .... 

Athletic clubs 

Boy Scouts 

Boys' clubs 

Camp Fire Girls 

Civic clubs 

Community-center as- 
sociation 

Dramatic clubs 

Fathers' club 

Girl Scouts 

Girls' clubs 

Mothers' club 

Musical organizations . 

Neighborhood improve- 
ment association .... 

Newsboys' club 

Parent-teacher associa- 
tion 

Society meetings (see 
list) 

Woman's club 

2 



EDUCATIONAL OCCA- 
SIONS 35 

Conferences 36 

Exhibitions 36 

Loan art exhibits 37 

Talks 38 

Welfare exhibits 38 

ENTERTAINMENTS ... 40 

Concerts 42 

Dialogues 42 

96 Exhibition drills 42 

97 Feature dancing 43 

97 Impersonations 45 

97 Lantern slides 46 

98 Legerdemain 46 

99 Masques 46 

99 Minstrels 47 

Monologues 47 

100 Motion pictures (with 

100 projector requiring no 

100 booth) 47 

100 Musical sketches 48 

101 Nights of all nations. . . 48 

101 Pantomimes 50 

102 Readings 50 

Rehearsals 50 

102 Story-telling 51 

102 Stunt nights 52 

Tableaux 52 

102 Theatricals 52 

Vaudeville 54 

33 Welsh Eisteddfod bur- 

103 lesque 55 

[171 



ACTIVITIES FOR STATED SPACES 



Kindergarten (Continued) 



Page 

HANDICRAFTS 56 

Basketry 57 

Bead work 58 

Chair-caning 59 

Crocheting 59 

Dressmaking 59 

Embroidery 60 

Fancy work 60 

Hammock-making .... 60 

Knitting 61 

Millinery 61 

Raffia 62 

Rug-making 62 

Sewing 62 

Wireless telegraphy ... 63 

MENTAL CONTESTS . . 65 

Arithmetical calculations 65 

Checkers tournaments. 66 

Chess matches 66 

Debates 66 

Declamation contests . . 67 
Dramatic-club tourna- 
ments 68 

English-grammar con- 
tests 68 

Essay competitions .... 68 

Mock trials 69 

Pronunciation matches . 69 

Spelling bees 69 

Story-telling contests. . 69 

NEIGHBORHOOD SER- 
VICE 70 

Baby conferences 70 

Clinics 71 

Cooperative buying .... 71 

Information bureau .... 72 

School savings bank ... 73 
Vocational guidance 

bureau 73 

PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES 76 

Athletic feats 79 

Bag-punching 80 

Ball games (see list) ... 80 

I 



Page 
PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES 

(Continued) 

Boxing 82 

Calisthenics 82 

Drills 83 

Esthetic dancing 83 

Fencing 83 

Folk-dancing 83 

Games: See Ball, Mis- 
cellaneous, Singing 
and Table games 

Jiu jitsu 85 

Miscellaneous games . . 85 

Races (see list) 86 

Singing games 87 

Table games (see list) . . 88 



SOCIAL OCCASIONS. 

Banquets 

Bazaars 

Celebrations 

Charades 

Dances 

Fake athletic meet . . . 

Fortune-telling 

Mock auction 

Mock county fair .... 
Parties (see list) .... 
Party games (see list) 



89 
89 
90 
90 
91 
91 
92 
92 
92 
92 
92 
93 



VOLUNTARY CLASSES 104 

Art 104 

Civics 105 

Civil service 106 

Current events 107 

English for foreigners . . 107 

First aid 108 

Household science and 

art 108 

Languages 109 

Literature 109 

Music 109 

Naturalization qualifica- 
tions 110 

181 



ACTIVITIES FOR STATED SPACES 



CLASSROOMS 



CLUB AND SOCIETY Page 
MEETINGS 96 

Agricultural clubs 97 

Alumni association .... 97 

Athletic clubs 97 

Boy Scouts 97 

Boys' clubs 98 

Camp Fire Girls 99 

Civic clubs 99 

Community-center as- 
sociation 100 

Dramatic clubs 100 

Fathers' club 100 

Girl Scouts 100 

Girls' clubs 101 

Mothers' club 101 

Musical organizations . . 102 
Neighborhood improve- 
ment association .... 102 

Newsboys' club 102 

Parent-teacher associa- 
tion 102 

Society meetings (see 

list) 33 

Woman's club 103 

EDUCATIONAL OCCA- 
SIONS 35 

Conferences 36 

Exhibitions 36 

Talks 38 

Welfare exhibits 38 

ENTERTAINMENTS ... 40 

Dialogues 42 

Impersonations 45 

Lantern slides 46 

Legerdemain 46 

Minstrels 47 

Monologues 47 

Motion pictures (with 
projector requiring 

no booth) 47 



ENTERTAINMENTS Page 
(Continued) 

Musical sketches 48 

Pantomimes 50 

Readings 50 

Rehearsals 50 

Story-telling 51 

Stunt nights 52 

Tableaux 52 

Vaudeville 54 

Welsh Eisteddfod bur- 
lesque 55 

GAMES 76 

Ball games (see list) ... 80 
Classroom games (see 

list) 82 

Miscellaneous games 

(see list) 85 

Races (see list) 86 

Table games (see list) . . 88 

HANDICRAFTS 56 

Basketry 57 

Bead work 58 

Bent-iron work 58 

Bookbinding 58 

Clay modeling 59 

Crocheting 59 

Drawing 59 

Dressmaking 59 

Embroidery 60 

Fancy work 60 

Hammock-making .... 60 

Jewelry- making 60 

Kite-making 61 

Knitting 61 

Leather work 61 

Millinery 61 

Painting 62 

Pyrography (leather 

and wood) 62 

Raffia, 62 



[19 



ACTIVITIES FOR STATED SPACES 



Classrooms 

HANDICRAFTS 

(Continued) Page 

Rug-making 62 

Sewing 62 

Sheet-metal work 63 

Stenciling 63 

Wireless telegraphy ... 63 

MENTAL CONTESTS . . 65 
Arithmetical calcula- 
tions 65 

Checkers tournaments. 66 

Chess matches 66 

Debates 66 

Declamation contests . . 67 
Dramatic-club tourna- 
ments 68 

English-grammar con- 
tests 68 

Essay competitions .... 68 

Mock trials 69 

Pronunciation matches. 69 

Spelling bees 69 

Story-telling contests . . 69 

NEIGHBORHOOD SER- 
VICE 70 

Baby conferences 70 

Check-room 71 



(Continued) 

NEIGHBORHOOD SER- 
VICE (Continued) Page 
Clinic for mothers and 

babies 71 

Cooperative buying .... 71 

Information bureau .... 72 

Library station 72 

Reading room 72 

School savings bank ... 73 

Study room 73 

Vocational guidance 

bureau 73 

VOLUNTARY CLASSES 104 

Art 104 

Civics 105 

Civil service 106 

Current events 107 

English for foreigners . . 107 

First aid 108 

Household science and 

art 108 

Languages 109 

Literature 109 

Music 109 

Naturalization qualifica- 
tions 110 



PLAYROOM 



PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES 



Archery , 

Athletic feats 

Bag-punching 

Ball games (see list) 

Basket ball 

Billiards 

Boxing 

Calisthenics 

Drills 

Esthetic dancing . . . . 
Fencing 



76 PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES 

79 (Continued) 

79 Folk-dancing 83 

80 Games: See Ball, Mis- 

80 cellaneous, Singing 

81 and Table games 

82 Gymnastic competitions 85 
82 Jiu jitsu 85 

82 Miscellaneous games 

83 (see list) 85 

83 Races (see list) 86 

83 Roller-skating 87 

120] 



ACTIVITIES FOR STATED SPACES 



PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES Page 
(Continued) 

Singing games 87 

Table games (see list) . . 88 

Tumbling 88 

Wrestling 88 



Playroom (Continued) 

MEETINGS (Continued) Page 

Boys* clubs 98 

Camp Fire Girls 99 

Girl Scouts 100 

Girls* clubs 101 



EDUCATIONAL OCCA- 
SIONS 35 

Exhibitions 36 

Lectures 36 

Loan art exhibits 37 

Talks 38 

Welfare exhibits 38 

ENTERTAINMENTS 

Many of the activities 
mentioned under this 
head for Assembly 
Room (q. v., page 15) 
can be carried on in a 
Playroom if seats and 
a platform are avail- 
able. 

MEETINGS 96 

Athletic clubs 97 

Boy Scouts 97 



MENTAL CONTESTS ... 65 

Checkers tournaments . 66 

Chess matches 66 

Dramatic-club tourna- 
ments 68 

Mock trials 69 

Pronunciation matches . 69 

Spelling bees 69 

Story-telling contests . . 69 



SOCIAL OCCASIONS . 

Banquets 

Bazaars 

Celebrations 

Charades 

Dances 

Fake athletic meet . . . . 

Fortune-telling 

Parties (see list) 

Party games (see list) 



89 

89 
90 
90 
91 
91 
92 
92 
92 
93 



CORRIDORS 



EDUCATIONAL OCCA- 

SIONS 

Exhibitions 

Loan art exhibits 

Welfare exhibits 



HANDICRAFTS 

Basketry 

Bead work ... 
Crocheting. . . 
Embroidery . . . 
Fancy work. . . 



35 
36 
37 

38 

56 
56 
58 
59 
60 
60 



HANDICRAFTS (Continued) 

Hammock-making .... 60 

Knitting 61 

Millinery 61 

Raffia 62 

Rug-making 62 

Sewing 62 

MENTAL CONTESTS ... 65 
Arithmetical calcula- 
tions 65 

Checkers tournaments . 66 



[21] 



ACTIVITIES FOR STATED SPACES 



Corridors {Continued) 



MENTAL CONTESTS 

(Continued) Page 

Chess matches 66 

English-grammar con- 
tests 68 

Pronunciation matches. 69 

Spelling bees 69 

Story-telling contests . . 69 

NEIGHBORHOOD SER- 
VICE. 70 

Information bureau .... 72 

Library station 72 

PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES 76 

Athletic feats 79 

Bag-punching 80 



PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES 

(Continued) Page 

Boxing 82 

Fencing 83 

Folk-dancing 83 

Jiu jitsu 85 

Miscellaneous games 

(see list) 85 

Races (see list) 86 

Table games (see list) . . 88 

Tumbling 88 

Wrestling 88 



SOCIAL OCCASIONS. . 

Bazaars 

Dances 

Party games (see list) . 



89 
90 
91 
93 



DOMESTIC-SCIENCE ROOM 



Cooking classes 106 

Household - science 

classes 108 



Refreshment service 94 

Tafify pulls 94 



LUNCH 

Banquets 89 

Parties 92 

Fortune-telling tea .... 92 

Knickerbocker tea .... 92 

Maize party 92 



ROOM 

Parties (Continued) 

Mother Goose party ... 93 

New Year's tea 92 

Refreshment service 94 



MANUAL TRAINING ROOM 



Aeroplane-making 57 

Bent-iron work 58 

Bookbinding 58 

Chair-caning 59 

Clay modeling 59 

Jewelry-making 60 



Pyrography (leather, wood) 62 

Sheet-metal work 63 

Stenciling 63 

Wireless telegraphy 63 

Wood-carving 63 

Woodwork 63 



[22] 



ACTIVITIES FOR STATED SPACES 



Page 

Committee meetings 99 

Information bureau 72 



PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE 

School savings bank 



Page 
73 



TEACHERS' ROOM 



Committee meetings 99 

Library station 72 



Small club and society 

meetings 33, 96 

Small parties 92 



SWIMMING POOL 



Swimming 87 

Water sports 88 

Basket polo 88 

Find the coin 88 

Find the plate 88 

Keep the ball 88 

Pull away 88 

Races 88 



Water sports (Continued) 

Water basket ball 88 

Water hockey 88 

Water polo 88 

Water push ball 88 

Water tag 88 

Water tug-of-war 88 



DISPENSARY 

Baby conferences 70 Health talks 71 

Clinics 71 Little mothers' clubs 101 

First aid classes 71 Mothers' club meetings. . 101 



WHOLE BUILDING 



Alice in Wonderland so- 
cial 89 

Amateur circus 89 

Carnivals 90 

Community contests 35 

Community fairs 35 

Community institutes .... 35 

Exhibitions 36 



Holiday celebrations 44 

Jules Verne entertain- 
ment 46 

Mock county fair 92 

Team industrial contests . . 38 

Trip around the world 94 

Trip to the moon 95 

Welfare exhibits 38 



[23] 



CIVIC OCCASIONS 

Note. — In the following pages the full description of 
books — publisher's name, number of pages, price, 
etc. — is given only at the first reference. Each 
subsequent mention, however, is accompanied by the 
parenthesis " see p. — ," giving the page where the 
descriptive information is to be found. The complete 
names and addresses of publishing firms are given on 
pages 119 to 123. 

Forum. — A place devoted to the systematic discus- 
sion of public questions. The most important 
factor in the success of this activity is the leader or 
director. This person should have a commanding 
personality, be a firm believer in democracy, and 
have a wide acquaintance with living issues and 
people capable of discussing them. The leadership 
should be continuous and not handed around to 
various committeemen. Only so can an impartial 
and respectful attitude be systematically inculcated 
in the audience. The tone of the occasion is usually 
fixed by the introductory remarks of the leader, but 
assistance in producing an atmosphere of dignity 
can also be obtained by means of appropriate music 
and an invocation. A short period of congregational 
singing from some such book as Social Hymns of 
Brotherhood and Aspiration, collected by Mrs. M, 

[24] 



CIVIC OCCASIONS 

H. B. Mussey (Barnes, 1914; 113 p. 35 cents a 
copy, $25.00 per 100), or from lantern slides pro- 
jected upon a screen, will accomplish this effect, and 
other aids which may be employed are special pro- 
grams by singing societies, orchestras, and other 
musical organizations. A piano can often be bor- 
rowed from a music firm if a suitable advertisement 
is given. George W. Coleman, the chairman of the 
"Ford Hall Sunday Evening Meetings," — as this 
notable Boston forum is denominated, — has written 
a series of invocations which are specially suited to 
non-sectarian occasions. They have been published 
under the title of The People's Prayers: As Voiced 
by a Layman (Griffith, 1914; 93 p. 50 cents). 

In the conduct of the forum, resolutions and mo- 
tions contemplating any sort of action or endorse- 
ment should be excluded. The ideal that the forum 
exists solely for the enlightenment and clarification 
of opinion, and not for action, should be held con- 
stantly before the audience. Some forums have, it is 
true, permitted resolutions, but this is a practice of 
doubtful wisdom in a public-school building. 

A large part of the interest in forum meetings 
comes from the feeling of freedom and the belief that 
no single agency is endeavoring to enforce its notions 
upon the community. Great care should therefore 
be exercised to select the topics and speakers so that 
the ideal of impartiality and of giving equal oppor- 
tunity to all sides will be constantly impressed upon 
the public. Questions over which strongly opposing 
views are held will naturally have the greatest draw- 

1251 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

ing power, and if the forum management consistently 
seeks equally able speakers on both sides it will re- 
tain both the confidence and the interest of the pub- 
lic. In the selection of speakers the effort should 
always be to secure those who by reason of special 
study, experience or ability have an authoritative 
standing in the field of the subjects they discuss. 
Here are some actual forum topics : 

The family and the moral crisis 

Working and owning for a living 

The discipline of struggle 

The United States : Pacemaker or Peacemaker? 

What work should give us besides bread 

Will democracy endure? 

After prison — what? 

Militancy and morals 

From absolute monarchy to pure democracy 

in industry 
Government intervention in idleness 

The expenses of some forums are met by voluntary 
subscriptions and collections, while others are en- 
dowed. At the outset it will ordinarily be possible 
to engage speakers without payment, but as time 
goes on it will be necessary to pay an honorarium, 
if worth-while lecturers are to be obtained. Forum 
meetings are usually not held oftener than once a 
week, and the hour is best determined by consulting 
local customs. 

Valuable hints regarding the practical conduct of 
forums may be obtained from the monthly periodical 
The Community Forum (710 Ford Building, Boston, 
Mass.; subscription, eight issues, 75 cents), a suc- 

[261 



CIVIC OCCASIONS 

cesser to Ford Hall Folks. Further information 
regarding Ford Hall is obtainable in the book 
Democracy in the Making, sl symposium edited by its 
leader, George W. Coleman (Little, 1915; 332 p. 
$1.50). The Cooper Union forum, from which Ford 
Hall obtained its inspiration, was described by its 
founder, Charles Sprague Smith, in his book Working 
With the People (now out of print but accessible in 
many public libraries). Suggestions as to topics and 
sources of speakers may be obtained from pages 385- 
395 of Wider Use of the School Plant, by Clarence 
Arthur Perry (Survey, 1913; 423 p. $1.25).* 

Memorial exercises. — Meetings in memory of 
prominent persons recently deceased or of catas- 
trophes having notable public consequences. The 
usual program includes appropriate music and formal 
addresses by distinguished persons. Sometimes an 
original poem is read by its author. Resolutions of 
sjmapathy for survivors are oftentimes passed and 
occasionally the first steps are taken in the raising of 
funds for relief or for some fitting memorial. These 
occasions offer opportunities for giving a note of 
dignity and seriousness to the community-center 
work. 

Mock city council. — An activity best suited to 
clubs of youths. The members of the clubs are 
allotted to various wards or municipal districts which 
they represent in a miniature common council. The 
officers ordinarily found in a municipal council are 

* Since going to press this book has gone out of print, but 
it will probably be found in many public libraries. 

[271 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

elected. After completion of the organization the 
council proceeds to propose and enact ordinances, 
appropriate funds, discuss civic improvements and 
transact the usual business of a city council. This 
activity affords its members excellent training in 
debating and an opportunity to acquire a valuable 
stock of civic information. 

Mock legislature. — In this activity, which is also 
adapted to a society of young people of high-school 
age, the various members are assigned to state as- 
sembly districts which they represent in a miniature 
legislative body. A speaker, clerk, sergeant-at-arms, 
and other appropriate officers are elected. The House 
then convenes, bills are proposed and debated, resolu- 
tions are offered, — all the varied transactions of a 
state legislature are carried on in imitation of the 
reality. A high-school instructor in civics ordinarily 
makes a good leader for this organization. The leader 
usually acts as the speaker of the House and in that 
capacity not only decides points of procedure but 
endeavors to hold the proceedings up to a serious and 
profitable level. 

This activity is called a mock congress when or- 
ganized in imitation of the United States Senate and 
House of Representatives. The mock congress may 
be set up purely for amusement. It is so described 
in a bulletin of the University of Texas (Extension 
series No. 45, March 25, 1914). As an entertainment 
it becomes only a one-evening affair. The House is 
then usually divided into two parties of nearly equal 
strength, the " Conservatives'' and the "Radicals," 

[28] 



CIVIC OCCASIONS 

with a few "Independents" whose votes are eagerly- 
sought by the opposing bodies. Both parties try to 
elect a chairman and vie with each other in attempts 
to pass bills and amendments, and the debates are 
the occasion of much fervid oratory. 

Mock naturalization hearings. — Exercises pat- 
terned after the hearings given in courts held for the 
purpose of determining the qualifications of aliens for 
citizenship. This dramatized form of civic instruc- 
tion can be used to vary the regular class work for 
immigrants, or it can form an evening's entertain- 
ment for the entire center. Before imitating such a 
hearing a director might well attend the local natu- 
ralization court and witness an actual proceeding. 
The hearings at the school center could then be mod- 
eled closely after the real affair. 

A pamphlet entitled The School and The Immi- 
grant (Publication No. 11, 1915; Division of Refer- 
ence and Research, Department of Education, City 
of New York) contains suggestions and a bibliog- 
raphy which will be found useful in efforts in behalf 
of the Americanization of foreigners. A booklet 
giving the information required to pass examinations 
for naturalization is Civics for Coming Americans, 
by Peter Roberts (Association Press, new enlarged 
edition, 1917; 118 p. paper, 50 cents). 

New citizens' receptions.— These exercises may 
take the form of either banquets or public meetings, 
or both. On one occasion at the Los Angeles High 
School, a banquet was tendered the new citizens of 
the preceding six months, by representative old citi- 

[291 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

zens, each of whom paid for two plates and sat down 
beside a new citizen as his guest. There were toasts 
and responses and patriotic music. At meetings held 
for the reception of the newly naturalized, they were 
called upon the platform to receive their certificates. 
Oftentimes these are handed out by the judge of the 
naturalization court, who thereupon extends the 
right hand of fellowship. Sometimes a small Ameri- 
can flag is presented with the certificate. Addresses 
are made by the mayor and a judge or some promi- 
nent citizen. The G. A. R. drum corps or the high- 
school orchestra plays patriotic music. These re- 
ceptions are given not only to the newly naturalized 
but to natives on becoming of age. They are some- 
times called First Voters' Receptions. A civic ritual 
entitled The New Citizenship, by Percy Mackaye 
(Macmillan, 1915; 92 p. paper, 50 cents), has been 
devised for use upon such occasions as these. Au- 
thority for its use may be obtained by addressing 
the author in care of his publishers. 

Patriotic celebrations. — Exercises appropriate to 
national and state holidays. In large cities on elec- 
tion nights and New Year's Eve special occasions are 
sometimes held in the school centers for the specific 
purpose of keeping children and young people off the 
crowded streets. The programs vary greatly in 
character. Patriotic songs, recitations, theatricals, 
tableaux, and addresses by public-spirited citizens 
are among the commoner features of these occasions. 

A series of books entitled Our American Holidays, 
edited by Robert H. Schauffler (Moffat, 1915; each 

[30] 



CIVIC OCCASIONS 

volume $1.10, postpaid $1.20), is composed of nine 
volumes covering the following holidays: Arbor 
Day, Christmas, Flag Day, Independence Day, 
Lincoln's Birthday, Memorial Day, Thanksgiving, 
Washington's Birthday, and Mothers' Day. Each 
book contains two or three hundred pages of prose 
and poetry selections revealing the origin and sig- 
nificance of the day. Some State Departments of 
Education issue booklets to be used by schools in 
the celebration of Memorial Day and other holidays 
(see under Holiday celebrations, p. 44). The Cata- 
logue of Plays and Entertainments, for Schools, Dra- 
matic Clubs, Churches and All Amateur Theatricals 
(Flanagan), gives the titles of various books help- 
ful in arranging interesting and novel programs. 

Public discussions. — Open meetings for the con- 
sideration of matters of general neighborhood or 
municipal import. A forum (see p. 24) is an organ- 
ization for holding systematic pubHc discussions but 
it generally specializes in questions of a controversial 
and universal character, while under this head there 
is contemplated those which have a more local refer- 
ence and a basis in facts rather than principles. 
Nearly every elementary-school center is the focusing 
point of a neighborhood in which matters affecting 
the welfare of all the inhabitants are continually 
arising, — for instance, difficulties connected with gar- 
bage collection and disposal, sewerage, fire-extin- 
guishing facilities, transportation arrangements, and 
school matters. In all these fields questions come up 
which can be wisely settled only after frank and gen- 

[311 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

eral discussion. Very often some local organization 
such as the Taxpayers' Association, the Ward Im- 
provement Club or some other kind of civic group 
takes up matters of this sort. In that case the school 
center's function is the easy one of offering the hospi- 
tality of its assembly room, if indeed the organization 
is not already using it. Sometimes such groups are 
meeting in halls or private quarters not sufficiently 
large for a mass-meeting, so that the offering of the 
school auditorium would give them encouragement 
and assistance. If the center is in a high-school 
building, matters of more general import to the muni- 
cipality form the natural subjects for public discus- 
sion. Organizations for backing these occasions will 
be found among those devoted to public welfare of 
city-wide scope, such as the Public Education Asso- 
ciation, the Playground Association, Federated Im- 
provement Associations, or the Board of Trade. 

Public discussions can be facilitated during elec- 
tion periods by offering the school auditorium for 
political rallies under partisan auspices. If equal 
opportunity is given to all the parties no public 
criticism will usually arise. Sometimes a civic club 
will ask all of the opposing candidates to appear on 
its platform the same evening, thus giving the public 
a. chance to size them up under uniform conditions. 
An alert watchfulness for occasions of general civic 
significance will tend greatly to increase the value of 
the center to its patrons. A handy manual for use 
in this connection is The Debater, Chairman's Assist- 
ant, and Rules of Order (Dick, paper, 30 cents). 

[321 



CIVIC OCCASIONS 

Receptions to officials. — Gatherings of citizens to 
greet public servants. Receptions may be given to 
the mayor, aldermen, school commissioner, district 
attorney, chief of poUce or any other public official. 
Such receptions may occur either immediately after 
assumption of office or later, an especially opportune 
time being just after some important achievement by 
the official who is to be thus honored. The program 
usually includes remarks by the president of the asso- 
ciation under whose auspices the meeting is held, or 
by some other leading citizen secured for the purpose, 
who will also act as chairman. This is followed by a 
response from the guest of honor. Afterwards the 
citizens form in line and are received by him. Such 
an occasion gives the pubHc an opportunity to show 
an appreciation of civic deeds of merit. It consti- 
tutes a fitting recognition of the official's enterprise 
and ability, and at the same time inspires him to 
commit himself to an even higher standard of duty. 

Society meetings. — There is a large number of 
voluntary organizations having activities beneficial 
to the pubUc whose vigor and longevity can often be 
helped through the offer of a meeting place in the 
school building. Generally such organizations are 
wilHng to stand the expense involved, but it would be 
a wise public policy to allow the school authorities 
a special appropriation for this purpose. Those whose 
activities are allied to that of public education, such 
as parent-teacher associations, should certainly be 
given the use of school accommodations without 
charge. A school-center management which delib- 
3 [33] 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

erately seeks opportunities for getting these organiza- 
tions to meet in the school building will vastly in- 
crease the usefulness of its work. The organizations 
to which school privileges are often granted include 
the following: 



Alumni Association 

Associated Charities 

Chamber of Commerce 

Choral Society 

Civic Association 

Civic Federation 

D. A. R. 

Educational and Industrial 

Union 
Fortnightly Club 
G. A. R. Post 
Home and School League 
Ladies' Relief Corps 



Local Council of Women 
Neighborhood Association 
Parent-Teacher Association 
Playground Association 
Public Education Association 
School Extension Society 
Social Service League 
Social Settlement 
Twentieth Century Club 
Ward Improvement Associa- 
tion 
Woman's Club 
Woman's Municipal League 



[34] 



II 

EDUCATIONAL OCCASIONS* 

Community contests and Commmiity fairs. — These 
events are described in Suggestions for Community 
Centers (Bulletin 26, 1914, Department of Educa- 
tion, State of Washington). They provide partic- 
ularly for exhibitions of rural school work. Either 
spring or fall is the time suggested and all of the ac- 
commodations of the school plant are called into 
service. Some time previous to the contest or fair 
the pupils are inspired to grow or to prepare pro- 
duce for exhibition. During the course of the fair 
contests are held in apple-paring, box-making, stock- 
judging, rope-tying, and other activities of an agri- 
cultural nature. In addition to the exhibits and con- 
tests there are outdoor sports, public addresses, 
parades, band music, picture shows and other enter- 
taining events. In other words, the events represent 
the old county harvest fair reduced to the propor- 
tions of a schoolhouse occasion. 

Commmiity institutes. — This activity is also de- 
scribed in the bulletin referred to in the preceding 
paragraph. The institute consists of a single day's 

* See explanatory note at the beginning of section I, page 24. 

[351 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

program in which the forenoon is devoted to addresses 
and agricultural topics, the afternoon to judging 
stock, plotting gardens, and similar outdoor demon- 
strations, and the evening to music, illustrated lec- 
tures and other entertaining features. The subjects 
mentioned for institute purposes are: Good roads, 
libraries, marketing, health, high schools, courses of 
study, labor-saving devices for the home, live-stock 
breeding, co-operation, etc. 

Conferences. — Another name for a series of public 
meetings and discussions. The institute described 
in the preceding paragraph might be called a con- 
ference. 

Exhibitions. — Occasions for displaying the results 
of the activities of some organization. Exhibitions 
of school work are sometimes held, at which drawings, 
various articles of handicraft, sewing, cookery, pieces 
of furniture and other products of the pupils are dis- 
posed for display in various classrooms. Exhibitions 
may also consist of physical activities of school chil- 
dren, such as drills, dances and marches (see Ex- 
hibition drills, p. 42), 

Lectures. — Formal addresses by persons qualified 
by study or experience to speak upon a given topic. 
Professional lecturers of course require a fee. It 
is possible sometimes, however, to secure lectures 
gratuitously from persons who desire to render a 
public service. Many propagandistic organizations 
have persons in their employ accustomed to make 
public addresses, which are frequently of such a for- 
mal and instructive character as to go under the head 

[361 



EDUCATIONAL OCCASIONS 

of lectures. If the occasion offers an opportunity for 
advancing the purpose of the organization the lec- 
turer may be engaged without other charge than his 
traveling expenses. The university extension de- 
partment of the state university generally main- 
tains a corps of lecturers whose services can be easily 
obtained for suitable audiences. Various social 
agencies possess lantern-slide collections which are 
loaned usually at the cost of transportation charges. 
Oftentimes a local speaker can use these borrowed 
lantern slides in giving an instructive illustrated 
lecture or talk. 

Some organizers of public lectures have the faculty 
of securing interesting addresses from people of local 
prominence in the professional or the business world 
who are not in the habit of doing much public speak- 
ing. The tendency of many untrained speakers is 
to be abstract and dull. A banker asked to talk upon 
''Banking as a profession," might be prosy and un- 
entertaining, whereas if he were given as his subject 
"Bankers I have known, and why they have suc- 
ceeded or failed," the probability is that if he kept 
to his topic his remarks would be unusually interest- 
ing. If speakers can be persuaded to impart actual 
experiences in concrete terms the result is usually 
entertaining. Further suggestions upon the organi- 
zation of public lectures will be found in Chapter 7 
and Appendix A of the book Wider Use of the School 
Plant (see p. 27). 

Loan art exhibits. — Exhibits of paintings, draw- 
ings, etchings, tapestries, and bric-^-brac loaned 

[371 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

for the purpose by the owners. For such an exhibi- 
tion the director of a center can obtain considerable 
help from the supervisor of drawing, the art depart- 
ment of a high school, a society of artists, or a com- 
mittee of prominent persons. Sometimes magazine 
publishers will loan their collections of original draw- 
ings and cartoons. Groups having some local pres- 
tige will generally be more successful in persuading 
owners of valuable paintings and other objects of 
art to loan them than will any single school-center 
individual. If persons of artistic ability can be in- 
terested they can render great aid in arranging the 
exhibit so as to secure the best effects. 

Talks. — Addresses of less formal character than 
lectures. Usually less preparation is given to a talk 
than to a lecture. The references given as sources of 
lecture topics in the preceding paragraph on Lectures 
will be found useful in arranging talks. 

Team industrial contests. — Competitions between 
schools of a city, of a county, or of a state. The 
competing bodies are the manual-training depart- 
ments of high schools, and the subjects of competition 
are usually sewing, cooking, woodwork, and other 
industrial courses. A full description with rules for 
these contests is given on pages 13-14 of Suggestions 
for Community Centers (see p. 35). 

Welfare exhibits. — Charts, pictures, legends, 
panels and models especially devised for the graphic 
presentation of the facts obtained and recommenda- 
tions made as a result of a study or survey of social 
conditions. These exhibits are frequently arranged 

[38] 



EDUCATIONAL OCCASIONS 

by associations interested in public health and child 
welfare. Sometimes departments of health main- 
tain traveling exhibits which can be secured for 
school-center purposes. An increasing number of 
voluntary associations interested in such social wel- 
fare movements as prison reform, the prevention of 
tuberculosis, and the promotion of social hygiene 
are using the exhibit method, and school-center 
directors can often borrow valuable educational 
features for their schools through correspondence 
with these agencies. Practical advice about exhibits 
of this character can be obtained by addressing the 
Department of Surveys and Exhibits of the Russell 
Sage Foundation, 130 East 22d Street, New York 
City. An organization which makes a business of 
arranging and setting up such exhibits is the Na- 
tional Child Welfare Exhibit Association, Inc., 70 
Fifth Avenue, New York City. 



139] 



Ill 

ENTERTAINMENTS * 

Amateur nights. — This activity is suggested by the 
practice which has arisen in the vaudeville world of 
devoting an evening's program to numbers contri- 
buted by amateurs. The offerings usually include a 
variety of features, such as songs, banjo solos, clog 
dances, a monologue, a bit of legerdemain, a charac- 
terization, or some other entertaining stunt. The 
performances frequently take the form of a competi- 
tion, when at the close of the program the performers 
are brought on the stage, indicated in turn by the 
stage manager, and judged by the audience, which 
manifests its preference by the strength of its ap- 
plause. 

Cantatas. — Selections of cantatas suitable for 
school-center presentation can be made from the fol- 
lowing catalogues, which, besides giving a general 
description of each cantata, state the number of per- 
formers required, length of performance, and price of 
the vocal score. A Descriptive Catalogue of Operas, 
Operettas and Cantatas for Children, Juveniles and 
Amateurs (Schirmer) ; and the Catalogue of Plays and 
Entertainments (Flanagan) . 

*See explanatory Dote at the beginning of section I, p. 24. 

[40] 



ENTERTAINMENTS 

Choral singing. — In the organization of choruses 
the selection of a leader is a matter of prime impor- 
tance, as upon him often falls the task of generating 
the interest of the patrons. The most enduring form 
of organization is that in which the members of the 
chorus compensate the leader either in the form of 
money or service. The musical director of a large 
church may be induced to conduct a chorus on week- 
day evenings on the understanding that the chorus 
sing at special occasions in his church. Choral sing- 
ing is sometimes called community-chorus work 
where the auditorium is devoted on Sunday after- 
noons to large groups or congregations engaged in 
singing popular and classic songs. Here fineness of 
musical effect is not so much aimed at as the conta- 
gion of musical enjoyment. A good text-book for 
elementary classes in chorus singing is the Popu- 
lar Method of Sight-Singing, by Frank Damrosch 
(Schirmer; 164 p. paper 50 cents, boards 75 cents). 
Other useful books are: Social Hymns of Brotherhood 
and Aspiration, a collection especially designed for 
public assembly use (see page 24) ; The Assembly Song 
Book, by Frank R. Rix (Barnes; 190 p. boards 60 
cents, $45.00 per hundred); Fifty-five Songs and 
Choruses for Community Singing (Birchard, 1917; 
paper, 10 cents; A Collection of Patriotic Songs (Flan- 
agan; 10 cents a copy, or $1.00 per dozen) ; and Pan- 
Collegiate Collection of Songs (Witmark; 50 cents). 
Any standard hymn-book may also be used. Where 
a stereopticon is available songs may be written on 
lantern slides and thrown on the screen. A simple 

[411 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

method of producing lantern slides containing songs 
is to write directly upon the glass with a fine-pointed, 
stiff pen, using India ink. Putting a cover glass over 
the side containing the writing and binding the two 
together with binding tape is a very simple matter. 

Concerts. — Orchestral, banjo and mandolin, piano 
and phonograph concerts come under this head. 
Either amateur or professional talent may be em- 
ployed according to the resources of the management. 
Concerts are sometimes given gratuitously for the 
sake of the advertisement by the musical organiza- 
tions of large corporations. Local music teachers will 
often be glad to hold pupil recitals in the school- 
center for the sake of the publicity, but criticism 
might arise in case the audience was an invited one 
and the same privilege was not given to other music 
teachers. A novel old folks' concert entitled ''The 
Mayflower Concert'' is described on page 205 of 
Entertainments for Every Occasion, by Lucy C. Yendes 
and Walter F. A. Brown (Hinds, 1909; 261 pages, 
$1.38). 

Dialogues. — For list of dialogues consult the cata- 
logues published by Dick & Fitzgerald, and the Cata- 
logue of Plays and Entertainments (Flanagan) . 

Exhibition drills. — These may consist of wand, 
dumb-bell and gymnastic drills by school children 
or young people. Boy Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, 
cadet companies, and other juvenile organizations 
often provide entertaining features of this character. 
An inexpensive handbook is Calisthenic Drills and 
Fancy Marching for the Class Room, No. 27 R of 

[42] 



ENTERTAINMENTS 

Spalding Athletic Library (American Sports Pub. Co. 
paper, 25 cents). This Library also contains books 
on Dumb Bell Drills {No. SI 4, 10 cents) ; Team Wand 
Drills {No. 16R, 25 cents); and others. A compre- 
hensive list of drills and marches is included in the 
Catalogue of Plays and Entertainments (Flanagan) . 

Feature dancing. — Solo and group fancy dancing 
as features of an entertainment program. Some of 
the varieties are the clog, buck and wing, and athletic 
dances, which are best attempted by the boys and 
youths. Esthetic and interpretative dances are 
usually given by girls and young women. An ordinary 
bit of solo dancing is sometimes given an additional 
attractiveness through the provision of a special 
costume in keeping with the nationality or other 
distinctive characteristic of the dance. 

Festivals. — The following books will be found 
valuable in organizing festivals for school centers : 

Festivals and Plays, by Percival Chubb and Asso- 
ciates (Harper, 1912; 403 p. illus. $2.00). Prepared 
by the Festivals Committee of the Ethical Culture 
School of New York City. Contains specimen pro- 
grams for school use, and a general bibliography, as 
well as references on festival music and costumes. 

Folk Festivals; Their Growth and How to Give Them, 
by Mary Master Needham (Huebsch, 1912; 244 p. 
$1.25). A manual for school and civic bodies, con- 
taining ideas and plans for executing folk festivals. 

The Festival Book; May-Day Pastime and the May- 
pole, by Jennette E. C. Lincoln (Barnes, 1912; 74 
p. $1.60). 

[43] 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

A Guide and Index to Plays, Festivals and Masques, 
for Use in Schools, Clubs and Neighborhood Centers, 
compiled by the Arts and Festivals Committee of the 
Association of Neighborhood Workers (Harper; 44 
p. 25 cents). 

See also references under Pageants, p. 48. 

Holiday celebrations. — There is a growing practice 
in school centers of arranging special holiday pro- 
grams. Certain holidays such as Washington's and 
Lincoln's Birthdays, Memorial Day and New Year's 
Eve, lend themselves especially to community cele- 
brations. While Thanksgiving and Christmas are 
usually of a domestic character, even these days 
offer opportunities for some kind of appropriate ex- 
ercises. In practically all urban communities there 
are many people living in boarding-houses and away 
from their own family circles for whom a community 
celebration would have its appeal. A common fea- 
ture of a school-center Christmas celebration is that 
of a Christmas party at which there is a tree loaded 
with trinkets, and carols are sung, and Santa Claus 
takes part in the revels. Sometimes Yuletide frolics 
are held, in which scenes from the Merrie England 
days of ''Good Queen Bess" are reproduced, when 
lords and ladies, servants, jesters and merry-makers 
appear in appropriate costumes upon the stage. 
School centers are also helping to revive the old cus- 
toms of placing candles in the windows on Christmas 
Eve and of sending out groups of singers who regale 
the neighborhood with Christmas carols. 

The references given under the head of Festivals 

[44] 



ENTERTAINMENTS 

in the preceding paragraph are useful in preparing 
holiday programs. To these may be added the fol- 
lowing : 

Our American Holidays, a series of nine volumes 
edited by Robert H. Schauffler (see p. 30). 

Festival Plays, by Marguerite Merington (Duffield, 
1913; 302 p. illus. $1.25). One-act pieces for New 
Year's, St. Valentine's Day, Labor Day, Hallowe'en, 
Christmas, and a child's birthday. 

Holiday Plays, by Marguerite Merington (Duffield, 
1910; 164 p. $1.25). A number of one-act plays 
suitable for the various holidays. 

Neighborhood Entertainments, by Ren^e B. Stern 
(Sturgis, 1910; 297 p. 75 cents). Gives suggestions 
for increasing social pleasures in rural communities, 
by both home entertainments and club affairs. 

Entertainments for Every Occasion (see p. 42). 

Further suggestions may be obtained from the 
chapter on Holidays in Social Activities for Men and 
Boys, by A. M. Chesley (Association Press, 1913; 304 
p. $1.00). See also the Catalogue of Plays and En- 
tertainments (Flanagan). Arbor Day Annuals are 
published by the State Departments of Education of 
Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Nebraska, New 
York, Ohio and Wisconsin. The State Education 
Departments of the following states also publish 
pamphlets giving suggestions for various holiday 
celebrations: Colorado, Michigan, New Mexico, 
North Carolina, Washington, and West Virginia. 

Impersonations. — For suggestions as to subjects 
suitable for impersonations and hints upon the 

[45] 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

method of impersonating, see Werner^s Readings and 
Recitations, sl series, especially No. 27, entitled Helen 
Potter's Impersonations (Dick; each number in series, 
paper 35 cents, cloth 60 cents). 

Jules Verne entertainment. — A form of entertain- 
ment in which the guests are taken upon a '* Round 
the World Trip in Eighty Minutes." This activity 
is fully described on page 195 of Entertainments for 
Every Occasion (see p. 42). 

Lantern slides. — Shdes for use in stereopticons 
may be borrowed oftentimes from physicians, col- 
lege professors, people who have traveled extensively, 
state education departments, university extension 
departments, and various associations engaged in 
social-welfare activity. Sometimes the manufac- 
turers of stereopticons have large collections of 
sHdes for sale or for loan. Generally sets of lantern 
slides are owned by the lecturer who uses them, but 
many collections do exist which can be borrowed 
and successfully used by any person accustomed to 
public speaking. 

Legerdemain. — See Dick's 100 Amusements for 
Evening Parties, also The Parlor Magician, or One 
Hundred Tricks for the Drawing Room (Dick; each, 
paper 30 cents) ; and Simple Conjuring Tricks that 
Anyone can Perform, by Will Goldston (Lippincott; 
35 cents). 

Masques. — This is a form of dramatic presentation 
in which dancing, pantomime and song are all com- 
bined. For suggestions see A Guide and Index to 
Plays, Festivals and Masques (see p. 44). 

[46] 



ENTERTAINMENTS 

Minstrels. — Suggestions about program and make- 
up, and material of every description fot use in the 
presentation of minstrel shows, can be obtained from 
M. Witmark & Sons, Mail Order Department, 144 
West 37th Street, New York City, and from Dick & 
Fitzgerald, 18 Ann Street, New York City. A useful 
handbook is The Witmark Amateur Minstrel Guide 
and Burnt Cork Encyclopedia, by Frank Dumont 
(Witmark, SI. 00). For additional references see the 
catalogues of A. Flanagan Company and Samuel 
French. 

Monologues. — For lists of monologues consult the 
catalogues of the following publishers : Dick & Fitz- 
gerald, A. Flanagan Company, and Samuel French. 

Motion pictures. — The use of motion pictures as a 
regular form of entertainment necessitates the in- 
stallation of a permanent booth with suitable projec- 
tion apparatus using standard-sized films. For an 
occasional performance before a small audience it is 
possible to use a portable projection machine which 
takes a special film of such slow-burning composition 
that it is permitted by insurance underwriters and 
fire departments to be used in machines not housed in 
booths. Since the user of the latter machine is lim- 
ited to the library of films owned by its manufac- 
turers, it is well to inquire into the extent of their 
library and to consider well the amount of use motion 
pictures will have before installing such an outfit. 
For the maintenance of regular motion-picture ex- 
hibitions it is necessary to have not only the perma- 
nent booth and standard-sized machine but to em- 

[47] 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

ploy a licensed operator and ticket-takers and to 
engage a film service. Oftentimes the school center 
director will find it advisable to organize a committee 
of business and professional men to assist him in the 
management of the enterprise. With skill and care, 
wholesome and attractive motion pictures can be 
furnished to a neighborhood on practically a self- 
supporting basis. 

Musical sketches. — For a list, see Catalogue of 
Plays and Entertainments (Flanagan) . 

Nights of all nations. — A series of four or five even- 
ings' entertainments devoted to activities character- 
istic of various foreign nations. Each evening's 
program is representative of a certain nation or 
group of nations, and the chief features are mono- 
logues, impersonations, feature dances, and music. 
The decorations of the hall are national in character. 
This activity is mentioned on page 28 of Social Activi- 
ties for Men and Boys (see p. 45). 

Operettas. — For suggestions see A Descriptive Cata- 
logue of Operas, Operettas and Cantatas for Children, 
Juveniles and Amateurs (Schirmer); and Catalogue 
of Plays and Entertainments (Flanagan). Samuel 
French and Oliver Ditson Company also catalogue 
a number of amateur and juvenile operettas. 

Pageants. — Pageants are ordinarily produced 
out of doors, but small affairs may be staged in fair- 
sized auditoriums. The school center may function 
best in the production of a large pageant by affording 
a place for organization and administration and for 
the rehearsing of the various episodes and interludes 

[48] 



ENTERTAINMENTS 

previous to the time of the final production. The 
following references will be found useful: 

The American Pageant Association aims to estab- 
lish a standard for pageant and festival work and 
serve as a clearing house for information in this field. 
Its scope includes all dramatic and festival activities 
of a distinctly community character. Associate 
members (annual dues, $1.00) receive all Bulletins 
and other material issued from time to time. The 
Secretary is Miss Virginia Tanner, 26 Arlington 
Street, Cambridge, Mass. 

Community Drama and Pageantry, by Mary Porter 
Beegle and Jack Randall Crawford (Yale University 
Press, 1916; 370 p. $2.50). A practical treatise on 
pageant staging, acting, grouping, music and dances, 
as well as the writing of the book of the pageant, and 
the work of organization. Full bibliography. 

Handbook of American Pageantry, by Ralph Davol, 
(Davol, 1914; 236 p. illus. $2.50). The philosophy 
and psychology of the pageant, its structural com- 
position, and detailed suggestions for presentation. 

Pageants and Pageantry, by Esther Willard Bates 
and WiUiam Orr (Ginn, 1912; 294 p. illus. $1.25). 
All the pageants are so divided that they may be 
given as a whole or as individual episodes. Six chap- 
ters on staging, costuming, organizing, and writing 
of amateur pageants and plays. 

Patriotic Pageants and Plays for Young People, by 

Constance D'Arcy Mackay (Holt, 1914; 223 p. 

$1.35). One-act plays for young people suitable for 

schools, summer camps, boys' clubs, historical festi- 

4 [49] 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

vals, social settlements and playgrounds. Each play 
deals with the youth of some American hero. Full 
directions for simple costumes, dances, and music. 

Plays of the Pioneers, by Constance D'Arcy Mackay 
(Harper, 1915; 174 p. illus. $1.00). Six pageant 
scenes, almost all of which have been acted as 
episodes in historical plays written and staged by the 
author, and are here altered to apply to any part of 
the country. Practical hints on music, sources, cos- 
tuming, and producing of pageants. 

Pantomimes. — For suggestions see The Book of 
Tableaux and Shadow Pantomivfies, by Sarah A. Frost 
(Dick, 180 p. paper 30 cents, boards 50 cents); 
Dick's Parlor Exhibitions (Dick, 160 p. paper 30 
cents); and Shadow Pantomimes (French, 25 cents). 
For additional references see Catalogue of Plays and 
Entertainments (Flanagan) . 

Readings. — See the catalogues of the following: 
Dick & Fitzgerald, A. Flanagan Company, Samuel 
French, and Hinds, Hayden & Eldredge. 

Rehearsals. — School centers can increase their 
activities and do a useful service by offering their 
accommodations to amateur organizations for re- 
hearsal purposes. Voluntary choruses, orchestras, 
banjo, guitar and mandolin clubs, glee and dramatic 
clubs will often be glad to avail themselves of the 
use of a school room for rehearsal purposes. 

Singing-society contests. — Competitions between 
choral or singing societies. These competitions are 
often held among the German Gesangvereinen. An- 
other example is to be found in the Welsh Eisteddfod. 

[50] 



ENTERTAINMENTS 

These organizations suggest activities which might 
well be emulated in school centers. 

Story -telling. — A story-telling hour is a frequent 
and popular feature of school library or reading room 
activities. References : 

Art of Story-Telling: With Nearly Half a Hundred 
Stories, by Julia Darrow Cowles (McClurg, 1914; 269 
p. $1.00). Some chapters are: Story-telling in the 
home; Why tell stories in school? How to choose 
stories for telling; The telling of the story, etc. 

Favorite Stories of the Library Reading Clubs, com- 
piled by Anna C. Tyler (New York Public Library, 
1915; 18 p. 5 cents). 

Good Stories for Great Holidays, by Frances Jenkins 
Olcott (Houghton, 1914; 461 p. $2.00). A collec- 
tion of 120 stories arranged for story-telling. 

For the Story-Teller, by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey 
(Bradley, 1913; 261 p. $1.50). Suggestive especially 
to the inexperienced story-teller. Discusses various 
types and shows the special appeal of the beginning, 
the suspense element, the climax, the instinct story, 
dramatic story, and story with a sense appeal. Bib- 
liography. 

Some Great Stories and How to Tell Them, by 
Richard T. Wyche (Newson, 1910; 181 p. $1.00). 

Stories and Story-Telling, by Angela M. Keyes 
(Appleton, 1911; 286 p. $1.25). Contains 75 short 
stories for children. 

Stories to Tell Children, by Sarah Cone Bryant 
(Houghton, 1907; 243 p. $1.00). Contains 51 stories 
with some suggestions for telling. 

[51] 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

Stunt nights. — For this activity each club or de- 
partment of the school center contributes some 
feature for the evening's program. As described on 
page 93 of Social Activities for Men and Boys (see 
p. 45), one club put on the Highland Fling in cos- 
tume, another gave a tableau, the glee club sang, and 
several other departments provided various stunts. 
Suggestions for stunts may be obtained from How to 
Amuse an Evening Party (Dick, 131 p. paper, 30 
cents) . 

Tableaux. — These are sometimes known as living 
pictures. Shadow pantomimes also come in this cate- 
gory. The subjects reproduced embrace historical 
scenes, reproductions of famous pictures, and statu- 
ary. Sometimes the tableaux illustrate a poem. 
Where electric-light connections are available it is 
not a difficult task to set up a frame on a stage which 
will act as a setting for the pictures. Lights can easily 
be set at the back and sides of the frame so as to 
illuminate the subjects presented. See references 
given under Pantomimes, page 50; also the books 
Tableaux Vivants, by J. V. Pritchard (French, 25 
cents), describing eighty tableaux; Bethlehem Tab- 
leaux, by J. K. Chessire (Button, 1913; 102 p. illus. 
$2.00); and pages 227-240 of Neighborhood Enter- 
tainments (see p. 45). 

Theatricals. — Dramatic productions are offered 
in school centers by individual clubs or societies or 
by the young people of the center as a whole. These 
presentations are usually of interest mainly to the 
friends of the producing organization and their rivals. 

[52] 



ENTERTAINMENTS 

Sometimes the work of amateur talent affords en- 
joyment to a much wider pubHc circle. In any case 
the presentation of plays, dramas, comedies and 
farces is a thoroughly worth-while activity for a 
school center. In some school systems the work is 
being greatly stimulated by allowing successful 
groups of players to put on their productions at other 
centers than the one where it was originally produced. 
Through an exchange system of this kind the large 
amount of labor connected with such a production 
is made to increase its radius of entertaining effi- 
ciency. The offer of the opportunity to give the play 
in other centers if it is successfully put on in the 
home center affords a strong stimulus to the players. 

The Drama League of America, 736 Marquette 
Building, Chicago, 111., publishes several lists of plays 
suitable for amateurs. Suggestions may also be ob- 
tained by consulting the catalogues published by 
Dick & Fitzgerald, the Dramatic Publishing Com- 
pany, A. Flanagan Company and Samuel French; 
and A Guide and Index to Plays, Festivals and 
Masques for Use in School, Clubs and Neighbor- 
hood Centers (see p. 44). A number of helpful 
books are : 

Costumes and Scenery for Amateurs, A Practical 
Working Handbook by Constance D'Arcy Mackay 
(Holt, 1915; 258 p. $1.75). Includes chapters on 
amateurs and the new stage art, costumes and 
scenery. Illustrations show the principal costumes 
needed for plays, pageants, and festivals for adults 
and children; also for the folk play, fairy play, his- 

[53] 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

torical play, and romantic play. The scenes include 
indoor and outdoor sets, both mediseval and modern. 

Educational Dramatics, A Handbook on the Educa- 
tional Player Method, by Emma Sheridan Fry (Mof- 
fat, 1913; 69 p. 50 cents). A guide for amateur 
actors, embracing the proper presentation of plays, 
stage business, etc. 

How to Produce Children's Plays, by Constance 
D'Arcy Mackay (Holt, 1915; 151 p. $1.25). Gives 
a history of the children's play movement, its socio- 
logical aspects and suggestions for new fields, with 
practical chapters on play producing, scenery, cos- 
tumes, and properties. Graded list of plays for pub- 
lic-school use, a list for special holidays, for out-of- 
doors, for settlements, for boys, for girls, and for 
group reading; also a list of helpful books for di- 
rectors. 

Neighborhood Entertainments, Chapter V (see p. 45). 

Plays for School Children, hy Annsi M. Liitkenhaus 
(Century, 1915; 250 p. SI. 25). A collection, with 
suggestions for their presentation, of twenty plays, 
pageants and pantomime stories selected from those 
given by the students of Public School No. 15, New 
York City. 

Townsend's Amateur Theatricals (Dick; paper, 25 
cents). 

Vaudeville. — For suggestions consult the cata- 
logues of Dick & Fitzgerald, A. Flanagan Company, 
Samuel French, and M. Witmark & Sons. 

Wax works. — References: Mrs. Jarley's Far- 
Famed Wax Works (French; in four parts, 25 cents 

[54] 



ENTERTAINMENTS 

each, or in one volume, $1.25) ; and Dic¥s 100 Amuse- 
ments for Evening Parties, pages 100-122 (see page 46). 
Consult also the Catalogue of Plays and Entertain- 
ments (Flanagan). 

Welsh Eisteddfod burlesque. — Described on page 
92 of Social Activities for Men and Boys (see p. 45). 



[55] 



IV 

HANDICRAFTS* 

The organization of handicraft classes consists es- 
sentially in connecting groups with leaders. Often 
this is happily accomplished by getting the prospec- 
tive instructor to give a preliminary talk upon the 
dehghtfulness and importance of his particular handi- 
craft. Ordinarily the expense of the instruction and 
supplies can be put upon the members of the class. 
The membership fees should be sufficient to re- 
munerate the leader and cover the cost of such ma- 
terial as needs to be purchased for all. Having each 
group self-supporting tends also to make the mem- 
bership more constant and of a more worth-while 
character. After paying their fees members will feel 
like continuing to the end. Classrooms can be util- 
ized for many of the handicrafts enumerated in the 
following pages. The principal protective require- 
ment is usually a board to cover the desk top. Of 
course at the close of the evening session all evidences 
of the work must be cleared away and special ar- 
rangements will have to be made for the storage of 
the material and utensils used, but with a Httle 
thought these difficulties can be obviated. 

* See explanatory note at the beginning of section I, p. 24. 

[56] 



HANDICRAFTS 

The increase in the number of crippled and par- 
tially maimed persons as a result of the European 
war has stimulated a special interest in crafts that 
are suitable for the bodily handicapped. A work 
designed to meet this need is Handicrafts for the 
Handicapped, by Herbert L. Hall and Mertice M. C. 
Buck (Moffat, 1916; illus. $1.25). Chapters are 
devoted to the following crafts: Baskets, woven and 
sewed; Chair-seating, cane and rush; Netting; 
Weaving; Bookbinding; Cement working; Pottery; 
Light blacksmithing. 

Under the various handicrafts listed below refer- 
ences are given to books which will be found helpful 
to teachers and pupils. 

Aeroplane-making. — 

Harper's Aircraft Book, by Alpheus Hyatt Ver- 
rill (Harper, 1913; 344 p. illus. $1.00). Why aero- 
planes fly; how to make models, and all about air- 
craft, little and big. 

Kitecraft and Kite Tournaments, by Charles M. 
Miller (Manual Arts Press, 1914; 144 p. illus. $1.00). 
Section on aeroplanes, gliders, etc. 

Basketry. — 

Basket Making, by T. Vernette Morse, in ''How 
To Do It" series (Flanagan; 30 p. illus. paper, 25 
cents). 

How to Make Baskets, by Mary White (Double- 
day; 225 p. $1.20). 

Industrial Work for Public Schools, by Martha A. 
Holton and Alice F. Rollins (Rand, 1904; 134 p. 

[571 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

illus. 90 cents), has a section on splint, rattan and 
raffia baskets. 

Inexpensive Basketry, by William S. Marten 
(Manual Arts Press, 1912; 44 p. illus. 25 cents). 
A teacher's manual on construction of coiled baskets. 

Practical and Artistic Basketry, by Laura Rollins 
Tinsley (Barnes, $1.00). 

The Art Crafts for Beginners, by Frank G. San- 
ford (Century; 1913; 270 p. illus. $1.29 postpaid). 
Has a section on basketry. 

The Handicraft Book, by Anne L. Jessup and 
Annie M. Logue (Barnes, 1913; 123 p. illus. $1.00). 
Gives instructions for basketry, chair-caning, cord, 
raffia and weaving. 

Bead work. — 

Bead Work, and 800 Designs for Bead Work, by 
T. Vernette Morse, in ''How To Do It" series 
(Flanagan, illus. 25 cents each). 

Industrial Work for Public Schools and The Art 
Crafts for Beginners (see Basketry, p. 57) have 
sections on bead work. 

Bent-iron work. — 

Venetian Iron Work, by T. Vernette Morse, in 
''How To Do It" series (Flanagan, illus. 25 cents). 

Bookbinding. — 

Bookbinding for Beginners, by Florence 0. Bean 
(School Arts Publishing Company, $1.25). 

The Art Crafts for Beginners (see Basketry, p. 
57) has a section on bookbinding. 

[581 



HANDICRAFTS 

Chair- caning. — 

The Handicraft Book (see Basketry, p. 57) in- 
cludes instruction in chair-caning. 

Clay modeling. — 

Clay Work, by Katherine M. Lester (Manual 
Arts Press, 1908; 94 p. illus. $1.00). 

How to Teach Clay Modeling, by Kellogg (Flan- 
agan; 63 p. linen, 25 cents). 

When Mother Lets Us Model, by Helen Mortimer 
Adams (Moffat; illus. 75 cents). A text-book for 
children on modeling. 

Crocheting. — 

Artistic Crochet, The Craft of the Crochet Hook, 
The Home Art Crochet Book, and The Modern Crochet 
Book, in the Home Art series, edited by Flora Klick- 
mann (Stokes; illus. 75 cents each). 

Drawing. — 

The Prang Company are publishers of art text- 
books for all grades of students, also A. Flanagan 
Company and Milton Bradley Company. 
Dressmaking. — 

Art in Dress, with Notes on Home Decoration, by 
Lydia Bolmar and Kathleen McNutt (Manual Arts 
Press, 35 cents), was prepared to meet the need in 
high schools and normal schools for a text on the 
fundamental principles of art in dress, millinery and 
home decoration. 

The Dressmaker (Butterick; $1.00, 75 cents to 
schools) covers all matters connected with sewing 
and dressmaking. 

[591 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

Embroidery. — 

Art in Dress, with Notes on Home Decoration (see 
Dressmaking, preceding paragraph) has a chapter 
on principles of design, color, etc., applied to em- 
broidery. 

Embroidery, by T. Vernette Morse, in "How To 
Do It" series (Flanagan, 40 p. illus. 25 cents). 

The Cult of the Needle, in the Home Art series, 
edited by Flora Klickmann (Stokes, 75 cents). 

Fancy Work. — 

Harper's Handy-Book for Girls, by Anna P. 
Paret (Harper, 1910; 348 p. illus. $1.50). Part one 
explains many things a girl can make for utility or 
adornment. The second part is occupied with arts 
and crafts — simple metal work, leather work, tapes- 
try, bead work, etc., including chapters on the art of 
enameling, jewelry-making, and block-printing. The 
third part explains an extensive variety of needle and 
fancy work. 

Hammock-making. — 

Practical and Artistic Basketry (see Basketry, p. 
57) describes cord-work, including hammock-making. 

Jewelry-making. — 

Art Metalwork, by Arthur F. Payne (Manual 
Arts Press, 1914; 186 p. illus. $1.50). 

Educational Metalcraft, A Practical Treatise on 
Repouss6, Fine Chasing, Silversmithing, Jewelry and 
Enameling, by P. Wylie Davidson (Longmans, $1.40). 

Harper's Handy-Book for Girls (see Fancy Work 
above). 

[601 



HANDICRAFTS 

Kite-making. — 

Kitecraft and Kite Tournaments (see Aeroplane- 
making, p. 57) treats of all kinds of kites, from the 
simplest to model aeroplanes. 

The Construction and Flying of Kites, by Charles 
M. Miller (Manual Arts Press, 1909; 32 p. illus. 25 
cents). 

ICnitting. — 

The Modern Knitting Book, in the Home Art 
series, edited by Flora Klickmann (Stokes, 75 cents). 

Leather work. — 

Leather Work, by Adelaide Mickel (Manual Arts 
Press, 1913; 53 p. 75 cents). 

The Art Crafts for Beginners (see Basketry, p. 
57) has section on leather work. 

Millinery. — 

Art in Dress, with Notes on Home Decoration (see 
Dressmaking, p. 59) has a chapter on principles of 
design applied to millinery. 

Illustrated Milliner, a monthly trade publication 
(Illustrated Milliner Company; single copies 50 cents, 
annual subscription, $4.00). Used by some classes 
for its depiction of latest styles in hats and trimmings. 

Practical Millinery Lessons, by Julia Bottomley 
(Illustrated Milliner Company, 1914; 125 p. illus. 
$1.25). 

Ribbons Beautiful (Illustrated Milliner Com- 
pany, $1.00) describes and pictures the making of 
ribbon trimmings and novelties. 

[611 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

Painting. — 

For references see Drawing, p. 59. 

Pyrography {leather and wood). — 

Pyrography and Flemish Carving, by T. Vernette 
Morse, in ''How To Do It" series (Flanagan, 30 p. 
illus. 25 cents). 

The Art Crafts for Beginners (see Basketry, p. 
57) has a section on pyrography. 

Raffia. — 

The Handicraft Book and Industrial Work for 
Public Schools (see Basketry, p. 57) have sections 
on raffia. See also other references under Basketry. 

Rug-making. — 

Hand-Loom Weaving, A Manual for School and 
Home, by Mattie Phipps Todd (Rand, 1914; 160 
p. illus. 90 cents). 

Sewing. — 

A Sewing Course for Teachers, Comprising Direc- 
tions for Making the Various Stitches and Instruc- 
tion in Methods of Teaching, by Mary Schenck Wool- 
man (Fernald, 1915; 141 p. illus. $1.50; with mount- 
ing book for practice pieces, $3.50). 

Harper^ s Handy-Book for Girls (see Fancy Work, 
p. 60). 

Needlecraft, by Effie Archer Archer, a volume in 
the Work and Play Library (Doubleday, $1.00). 

The Dressmaker (see Dressmaking, p. 59). 

The Sewing Book, by Anne L. Jessup (Butterick, 
[62] 



HANDICRAFTS 

60 cents). Sewing and simple garment-making for 
primary and grammar grades. 

Sheet-metal work. — 

The Art Crafts for Beginners (see Basketry, p. 
57) has a section on sheet-metal work. 

Working in Metals, by Charles C. Sleffel, a 
volume in the Work and Play Library (Doubleday, 
$1.00). 

Stenciling. — 

Needlecraft (see Sewing, p. 62) has a chapter 
on stenciling. 

Wireless telegraphy. — 

Harper's Wireless Book, by Alpheus Hyatt Ver- 
rill, in ''Tell-Me-How" series (Harper, illus. $1.00). 
How to use wireless electricity in telegraphing, tele- 
phoning, and the transmission of power. 

Wood-carving. — 

Wood-carving, by Simmonds (Allen Bros., sold 
by Manual Arts Press; 50 cents). An elementary 
treatise with suggestions on chip-carving. 

Woodwork. — 

Box Furniture, by Louise Brigham (Century; 
350p. illus. $1.60). 

Carpentry and Wood Work, by Edwin W. Foster, 
a volume in the Work and Play Library (Doubleday, 
$1.00). 

Essentials of Woodworking, by Ira S. Griffith 
(Manual Arts Press, 1908; 190 p. 75 cents). A 
text-book for high schools and upper grades. 

[63] 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

Jolly Book of Boxcraft, by Patten Beard (Stokes, 
1914; 188 p. illus. $1.35). How to make the build- 
ings and furniture of Boxville, and games which the 
children can play. 

Manual Training Toys for the Boy's Workshop, 
by Harris W. Moore (Manual Arts Press, 1912; 111 
p. illus. $1.00). A collection of 42 projects with 
working drawings, designed for upper grades of 
elementary schools. 

The Art Crafts for Beginners (see Basketry, p. 
57) has a section on woodworking. 



[64 



V 

MENTAL CONTESTS* 

Arithmetical calculations. — Sometimes called a 
*'Cifermg Match." As described on page 17 of 
Suggestions for Community Centers (see p. 35), this 
activity is run off much like a spelling match. Two 
leaders choose sides from among all the persons in the 
audience who are willing to participate in a rapid 
calculation contest. The examples used are con- 
fined to the four primary processes of addition, sub- 
traction, multiplication and division. The two last 
chosen go to the board first. A problem is given and 
both set to work. The one arriving at the correct 
answer first ''turns down" his opponent. The win- 
ner then takes on another one from the opposing line, 
and has the privilege of selecting the rule of arith- 
metic in which the second contest will occur. If one 
person turns down three of his opponents in succes- 
sion, he takes a place in the reserve and may be 
called again after all of his colleagues are given a 
chance. In each dual contest the decision is given 
to the one calling out the correct answer first. The 
side which has a contestant remaining after all the 
people on the other side have been defeated wins. 
* See explanatory note at the beginning of section I, p. 24. 
5 [65] 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

Checkers touraaments. — These competitions may- 
be inter-club, or inter-school-center. As conducted 
in the New York school centers, each team consists 
of six persons and the minimum age limit is eighteen 
years. The winning team receives a champion- 
ship trophy. The second team also receives some 
kind of a reward. References: Hoyle^s Games, by 
''Trumps" (Dick, cloth $1.25, boards 75 cents, 
paper 50 cents), a manual of all games of skill and 
chance. See Dick & Fitzgerald's catalogue ''Useful 
Books" for titles of other works on checkers, chess 
and similar games. 

Chess matches. — References same as in preceding 
paragraph. 

Debates. — In addition to single debates there may 
be debating tournaments between clubs, school cen- 
ters or city school-center systems. 

References : 
Both Sides of One Hundred Public Questions. 
Briefly Debated, by Edwin DuBois Shurter and Carl 
Cleveland Taylor (Hinds, $1.38). A handbook for 
debaters and all interested in literary or debating soci- 
eties. Under the questions are given the main lines of 
argument, affirmative and negative, all on present- 
day subjects, stated in concise propositions, which 
cover the issues on one side or the other. The ar- 
guments are followed by references. 

Debaters' Handbooks (Wilson, $1.00 each). 
Twenty-four titles including such subjects as woman 
suffrage, world^peace, trade unions, income tax. They 
furnish the main arguments on both sides of the 

[661 



MENTAL CONTESTS 

question, necessary historical dates, bibliography, 
briefs, etc. 

Debating for Boys, by William H. Foster (Stur- 
gis, 1915; 172 p. Sl.OO). Written especially for 
boys' clubs and Boy Scout organizations. 

Elements of Debating, by Leverett Samuel Lyon 
(University of Chicago Press, 1913; 136 p. $1.00). 
What debating means and how to do it; where to 
read for information; questions with suggested is- 
sues, and brief bibliography, together with a list of 
debating propositions. 

How to Conduct a Debate (Dick, 50 cents). A 
series of complete debates, outlines of debates and 
questions for discussion. 

Intercollegiate Debates in six volumes; Volume I 
edited by Paul M. Pearson, Volumes II-V by Egbert 
Ray Nichols (Hinds, $1.65 each). Each volume con- 
tains a number of complete debates. A large number 
of economic and governmental questions are covered. 
Pros and Cons, by A. H. Craig (Hinds, $1.65). A 
number of questions are fully outlined and in addi- 
tion the book contains chapters on how to organize 
a society and rules for governing debates, also a list 
of 250 questions for debate. 

The Manual of Debate, by Ralph W. Thomas 
(American Book Co., 80 cents). 

Declamation contests. — These contests may be 
inter-club, inter-center, inter-town, or inter-county. 
Rules for a county contest are stated on page 10 
of Suggestions for Community Centers (see p. 35). 
References: Pieces that Have Taken Prizes in Speak- 

[671 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

ing Contests, by A. H. Craig, and New Pieces that 
Will Take Prizes in Speaking Contests, by Harriet 
Blackstone (Hinds, $1.38 each). The same publishers 
also put out College Men's Three-Minute Declama- 
tions and College Girls' Three-Minute Readings, by 
H. C. Davis (SI. 10 each). Consult also the cata- 
logues of Dick & Fitzgerald and A. Flanagan Com- 
pany. 

Dramatic -club tournaments. — These are contests 
between dramatic clubs in the production of original 
plays. It is usually stipulated that the play may not 
require longer than twenty minutes for presentation 
and may be written by any member of the club. If 
many clubs enter the contest, one set of judges sees 
each of the plays produced at some central audi- 
torium and selects four of the best productions. 
Later these four ranking productions are presented, 
one after another, at a special occasion, and the final 
award is made by a committee of dramatic experts. 
At the final contest an admission fee may be charged 
and the proceeds used in meeting the expenses of the 
competition. 

English -grammar contests. — These are run off 
in the same manner as a spelling contest. Two sides 
are chosen and a series of incorrect sentences read 
off. Each contestant is asked to make the correction. 
Material for these contests may be assembled by 
consulting several standard grammars. 

Essay competitions. — This activity is described on 
page 126 of Social Activities for Men and Boys (see 
p. 45). See also Ogden's Skeleton Essays (Dick, 50 

[681 



MENTAL CONTESTS 

cents), a condensed treatise on popular subjects with 
suggestions as to enlarging them into essays. 

Mock trials. — References: Pages 44 and 94 of 
Social Activities for Men and Boys (see p. 45). Con- 
sult also the catalogues of Dick & Fitzgerald and A. 
Flanagan Company. 

Pronunciation matches. — Carried on hke speUing 
matches except that the leader spells and the con- 
testants pronounce the words. 

Spelling bees. — Competition rules are given on 
pages 9-10 of Suggestions for Community Centers (see 
p. 35). Consult also page 127 of Social Activities for 
Men and Boys (see p. 45). 

Story-telling contests. — Described on page 27 of 
Social Activities for Men and Boys (see p. 45). The 
contest may take the character of a fake affair in 
which the effort is to see who can spin the most im- 
probable yarn, or it may be of the more intellectual 
type, in which there is an endeavor to tell the best 
story, whether humorous, pathetic, or thrilling. 



69 



VI 

NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICE* 

Baby conferences. — Centers to which mothers bring 
their babies for information and advice. Each in- 
fant is weighed once a week and a report kept of its 
physical condition. A nurse is in daily attendance 
and clinics are held by doctors twice a week during 
the winter and daily during the summer. Follow-up 
work is done by the nurse to see that instructions are 
properly carried out. 

To stimulate interest in these conferences baby 
contests may be held. The method followed in New 
York under the auspices of the Babies' Welfare 
Association is as follows: A preliminary examina- 
tion of each infant is made and definite instruction 
given the mothers for the improvement of their con- 
dition, during a stated period, usually three or six 
months. Intensive follow-up work is carried on to 
hold the mothers' interest and insure effective work. 
At the end of the contest period the babies are again 
examined, and the one recording the greatest im- 
provement receives a prize, as does also the baby of 
perfect condition which has been kept so throughout 
the contest. 

*See explanatory note at the beginning of section I, p. 24. 

[701 



NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICE 

Check-room. — A place for checking hats, coats, 
wraps, and parcels. The ordinary schoolroom with 
its desk tops as spaces for laying the articles makes a 
practical place for this service, — one which is par- 
ticularly necessary during entertainments and social 
functions in other parts of the building. 

Clinics. — Dispensaries and classrooms of school 
buildings are now and then used as places for medical 
service and instruction, especially in connection with 
the ailments of children. A dental clinic is often the 
means of an important welfare service. During epi- 
demics the establishment of centers in school build- 
ings where medical advice and instruction can be 
given is a worth-while accomplishment. This ac- 
tivity is especially suitable for centers in which school 
dispensaries are located. 

Cooperative buying.— Neighborhood clubs may 
sometunes be brought together for the purpose of 
buying at wholesale rates certain needed supplies. 
Mothers' clubs, parent-teacher societies and tax- 
payers' associations are frequently interested in the 
matter of a community market. 

First aid. — Immediate service to the slightly 
wounded or ill can sometimes be rendered in school 
dispensaries. Instruction in first aid may also be 
given. See reference on page 108. 

Health talks. — A series of addresses on health sub- 
jects may often be arranged in school centers. This 
activity is especially helpful during a time of epi- 
demic or an unhealthy season. Assistance in getting 
up such a feature can be obtained from the local 

[71] 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

health department, medical societies, and nurses* 
associations. 

Information bureau. — Advice and information 
regarding employment, local regulations, industrial 
opportunities, real-estate conditions, naturaliza- 
tion, and matters of similar import can sometimes 
well be given in school centers. This activity is 
especially important in districts which customarily 
receive large numbers of foreigners and can well be 
administered by a person having a knowledge of 
several languages. 

Library station. — The use of a classroom, base- 
ment-room, or any suitable place as a branch of a 
public library. Such a station may be in charge of a 
trained librarian and open regular hours every day or 
on certain specified times of the week for the ex- 
change of books and the use of reference privileges. 

Reading room. — This activity is frequently a part 
of library-station work. In districts which are re- 
mote from public libraries and Y. M. C. A.'s, the 
establishment of a reading room is a distinct neigh- 
borhood benefit. Newspapers, periodicals, and refer- 
ence books may be obtained through donations from 
influential, public-spirited citizens. A systematic 
collection of discarded magazines and periodicals 
from members of the community will be likely to 
develop considerable material. An ordinary class- 
room can be used for this purpose, providing arrange- 
ments have been made to take care of the books and 
other property of the day pupils. This problem could 
be met by the installation of lockers for the pupils. 

[72] 



NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICE 

School savings bank. — Savings banks now exist 
in about 2,000 public schools, affording an excellent 
means for training children in habits of thrift. This 
movement is being promoted by many savings and 
loan associations. Page 310 in Helping School Chil- 
dren, by Elsa Denison (Harper, 1912; 352 p. $1.40), 
is devoted to an account of school savings banks. 
See also the Annual Report of the United States Com- 
missioner ' of Education, 1910, Volume I, page 137 
(U. S. Bureau of Education). 

Study room. — A classroom set aside for the use of 
children who desire to prepare their home work at 
the school. This facility is especially helpful to chil- 
dren living in crowded districts, where the home con- 
ditions are unfavorable to study. 

Vocational guidance bureau. — A place where 
counsel is given to young people regarding life call- 
ings. School authorities and industrial and welfare 
organizations are giving increasing attention to the 
subject of occupational adjustments. The whole 
matter is still, however, fraught with such obstinate 
difficulties that persons quahfied to give helpful 
counsel to individuals are scarce. Those who have 
given the subject special study are occasionally en- 
countered on the staffs of school boards and in the 
faculties of high schools and colleges, and among the 
members of social settlements and local charitable 
organizations. A vocational counsellor should be 
famiUar with all classes of mental and physical char- 
acteristics, and have some knowledge of experimental 

[73] 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

psychology, as well as wide information upon the re- 
quirements of the various callings. 

A useful source of information upon certain occu- 
pations is to be found in the Vocational Monographs 
which form part of the published reports of the 
Cleveland (Ohio) Education Survey, which was car- 
ried on under the direction of Leonard P. Ayres. 
These monographs can be obtained from the Division 
of Education, Russell Sage Foundation, New York, 
at 25 cents each, and they comprise the following 
titles : Department Store Occupations; Boys and Girls 
in Commercial Work; Railroad and Street Transpor- 
tation; The Printing Trades; The Garment Trades; 
Dressmaking and Millinery; The Building Trades; 
The Metal Trades. Wage Earning and Education, by 
R. R. Lutz (50 cents) gives the gist of the various 
industrial studies conducted by the survey. 

Extensive studies of certain special trades, such as 
bookbinding, artificial flower-making and millinery, 
have been made by the Division on Industrial Stud- 
ies, Russell Sage Foundation, 130 East 22nd Street, 
New York City, from which detailed information re- 
garding these publications can be obtained. Ref- 
erences to literature upon psychological tests can 
be found by consulting the files of the Journal of 
Educational Psychology (Warwick & York; yearly 
subscription $2.50), and the catalogue of its pub- 
lishers. 

Other references are: 

Bulletins of the Vocation Bureau of Boston, Meyer 
Bloomfield, Director, 6 Beacon Street, Boston. 

[741 



NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICE 

Profitable Vocations for Boys, by Eli W. Weaver 
(Barnes, 1915; 282 p. $1.00). 

Profitable Vocations for Girls, by Eli W. Weaver 
(Barnes, 1915; 212 p. 80 cents). 

Readings in Vocational Guidance, by Meyer Bloom- 
field (Ginn; 723 p. $2.25), is a collection of the most 
significant magazine articles, addresses, and other 
contributions to the literature of the subject, many 
of them not published elsewhere. 

Vocational and Moral Guidance, by J. B. Davis 
(Ginn, 1914; 303 p. $1.25). 

Vocational Guidance — The Teacher as a Counselor, 
byJ. Adams Puffer (Rand, 1914; 306 p. illus. $1.25). 

Vocational Guidance of Youth, by Meyer Bloom- 
field (Houghton, 1911; 123 p. 60 cents). 

The National Vocational Guidance Association 
(W. Carson Ryan, Jr., Secretary, Bureau of Educa- 
tion, Washington, D. C.) has been formed for the 
purpose of cooperating with public schools and other 
agencies interested in the furtherance of this impor- 
tant movement. 



[75] 



VII 

PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES* 

The interrelated subjects of play and physical growth 
have in recent years received much attention from 
serious students of human welfare. The results of 
their labors have been found so acceptable by society 
that now the direction, standardization and develop- 
ment of games has become a highly specialized and 
important occupation. Experts in this field are able 
to offer us textbooks in which a large variety of sports 
and games are described in detail, their intricate 
points made clear by diagrams, and so well explained 
that by the aid of these handbooks many games can 
be successfully conducted by any intelligent novice. 
The following sources of information do not com- 
prise by any means all of the books in this field, but 
they have been carefully examined and seem to us 
the most useful ones for the purposes of those carry- 
ing on school-center activities. The presentation of 
these sources is in alphabetical order, and not that of 
rank. It would be impossible to make an arbitrary 
rating, as all four have individual excellences. 

Play: Comprising Games for the Kindergarten, 
Playground, Schoolroom and College; How to Coach 

* See explanatory note at the beginning of section I, p. 24. 

[76] 



PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES 

and Play Girls' Basket Ball, etc., by Emmett Dunn 
Angell (Little, 1910; 190 p. 52 illus. $1.50). 
The book contains : 

Chapters on The Value of Play, The Relation 
of Play to Gymnastics, Public Playgrounds, The 
Equipment of the Playground, The Director of 
the Playground, The Classification of Games — 
Primary and Kindergarten, Grammar, High, 
College; and How to Teach Games. 

Jump the Shot; 34 Ball Games; 19 Tag 
Games; 11 Racing Games; 23 Miscellaneous 
Games; 7 Individual Games; 9 Schoolroom 
Games; 8 Games in the Water. 

Chapter on Basket Ball for Women: The 
Coach— The Center— The Guard— The For- 
ward — Team Work — Officials and Players. 
Games for the Playground, Home, School and Gym- 
nasium, by Jessie H. Bancroft (Macmillan, 1909; 
456 p. 23 illus. $1.50). 
Table of contents: 

Introduction — To the Teacher of Games. 
Counting-out; Choosing Sides; Who's ''It"? 
Miscellaneous Active Games — Quiet Games — 

Feats and Forfeits — Singing Games. 
Balls and Bean Bags: a. Specifications for Balls, 
Bean Bags, and Marking Grounds, etc. b. 
Bean Bag and Oat Sack Games, c. Ball 
Games. 
Indexes : 

Games for Elementary Schools, First to 
Eighth Years. 

[771 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

Games for High Schools. 

Games for Playgrounds, Gymnasiums, and 

Large Numbers. 
Games for Boys' and Girls' Summer Camps: 

a. Active Games, b. Quiet Games. 
House-party and Country-club Games: a. 

Active Games, b. Quiet Games. 
Games for Children's Parties: a. Active 

Games, b. Quiet Games. 
Seashore Games. 
Alphabetical Index. 
Education by Plays and Games, by George E. John- 
son (Ginn, 1907; 234 p. illus. 90 cents). 
Table of contents: 

Introduction by G. Stanley Hall. 
Part 1. — The Theory, History, and Place of 
Play in Education. Chapter I — The Mean- 
ing of Play; II — Play in Education; III — 
The Periods of Childhood and their Relation 
to a Course of Plays and Games. 
Part 2. — A Suggestive Course of Plays and 
Games. Period One (Ages 0-3) — Period Two 
(Ages 4-6) — Period Three (Ages 7-9) — Period 
Four (Ages 10-12)— Period Five (Ages 13-15). 
Bibliography — Index. 
Spalding Athletic Library (American Sports Pub. 
Co.). The titles in this library cover practically the 
whole range of indoor and outdoor games and ath- 
letics. They come in two forms of paper-covered 
booklets, one series costing ten cents postpaid, and 
the red-cover series (indicated by "R" following the 

178] 



PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES 

number) costing twenty-five cents postpaid. A com- 
plete catalogue may be obtained by addressing the 
publishers. 

The Playground and Recreation Association of 
America, 1 Madison Avenue, New York City, deals 
directly with the problems of public recreation. It 
keeps in touch with the recreation development 
throughout the country and serves as a clearing 
house for information. It publishes The Playground 
($2.00 per year, 25 cents per copy), a monthly maga- 
zine devoted to play and public recreation, and a 
large number of pamphlets on all phases of the recre- 
ation movement. 

Apparatus work. — Physical exercises which are 
carried on in connection with gymnastic apparatus. 
As a rule, it is not safe to offer this activity without 
the assistance of a skilled instructor. Aside from the 
danger in the use of apparatus without expert direc- 
tion, it is impossible to obtain the best physical re- 
sults if special instruction is not afforded. Much 
specific information regarding exercises suitable for 
different pieces of apparatus can be obtained from 
various booklets of the Scalding Athletic Library (see 
preceding page). 

Archery. — This is usually an out-door sport, but 
it can be carried on in a large gymnasium or long 
corridor. For references see page 157 of Johnson's 
Education by Plays and Games (see p. 78), and No. 
43R of the Spalding Athletic Library (see p. 78). 

Athletic feats. — Athletic contests and various 
forms of wrestling matches, races and miscellaneous 

[791 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

feats are described on pages 245-254 of Bancroft's 
Games for the Playground, Home, School and Gymna- 
sium (see p. 77). 

Bag-punching. — Full instructions are given in How 
to Punch the Bag, No. 191 of the Spalding Athletic 
Library (see p. 78). 

Ball games. — The invention of soft balls, such as 
the basket ball, volley ball and indoor baseball, has 
made it possible to enjoy indoors a wide variety of 
active games. Hitherto play of such a vigorous na- 
ture was largely limited to the open air. All the games 
in the list below are suitable for indoor use. Ban- 
croft's Games for the Playground, Home, School and 
Gymnasium (see p. 77) describes twenty-three of 
these games which are practicable in classrooms with 
fixed desks. These latter are easily distinguishable 
because preceding the description of each game as 
given by Bancroft a statement is made of the number 
of players required and the space — such as play- 
ground, gymnasium, schoolroom or parlor — for which 
the game is suitable. Angell's Play (see p. 76) also 
devotes a section to schoolroom games. In the fol- 
lowing list, references to the books described on 
pages 76-78 are made by giving the authors' 
names, except in the case of the Spalding Athletic 
Library, when ''Spalding" is used to indicate it. 
Those starred ( * ) are feasible in classrooms having 
fixed desks and seats. 



[80] 



PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES 



Game 

*Arch BaU 
Babylonian Ball 
♦Balloon Ball 



*Blind Target 
Bombardment 

Captain Ball 



Captain Basket 

BaU 
Center Base 

♦Circle Ball 



Circle Dodgeball 
Corner Ball 



Corner Keep Ball 
Crackabout 

Crowd Ball 
Curtain Ball 

Dodgeball, Circle 
Dodgeball, In- 
formal 



Dodgeball, Pro- 

greasive 
Drive Ball 

Emperor Ball 
Fist Ball 
*Fox and Squirrel 
Hand Ball 

Horse and Rider 
Human Target 
Indoor Baseball 



Keep the Ball 

Kick Ball 
Kicking Baseball 



References 

Bancroft p. 321 
Johnson p. 212 
Bancroft p. 325 
Johnson p. 107, 

172 
Angell p. 94 
Angell p. 61 
Bancroft p. 334 
Angell p. 85 
Bancroft p. 338 
Johnson p. 212 

Angell p. 88 
Bancroft p. 354 
Johnson p. 161 
Angell p. 56 
Bancroft p. 356 
Johnson p. 107 
Bancroft p. 364 
Angell p. 83 
Bancroft p. 359 
Johnson p. 171 
Johnson p. 211 
Bancroft p. 360 
Johnson p. 171 
Angell p. 69 
Angell p. 73 
Bancroft p. 361 
Bancroft p. 364 

Angell p. 59 
Bancroft p. 363 
Johnson p. 172 

Bancroft p. 366 
Bancroft p. 375 
Johnson p. 172 
Bancroft p. 346 
Bancroft p. 376 
Bancroft p. 93 
Bancroft p. 380 
Spalding No. 13 
Angell p. 94 
Angell p. 72 
Angell p. 58 
Spalding OflBcial 
Annual No. 9 
Angell p. 78 
Johnson p. 172 
Angell p. 80 
Angell p. 71 



Game 

Line Football 
Medicine Ball 

Mount Ball 

Name Ball 
Newcomb 

Nine-court Bas- 
ket Ball 

One-goal Basket 
Ball 

One Old Cat 
♦Overtake 

Parlor Hockey 

Pass Ball 

Pass Ball Relay 

Pin Ball 

Pin Football 
Plug Ball 
Ring Ball 
♦Round Ball 

School Ball 
♦Schoolroom Cap- 
tain Ball 
♦Schoolroom 
Dodgeball 
♦Schoolroom Vol- 
ley Ball 
Scrimmage Ball 

Spud Ball 

Square Ball 
Stool Ball 
Straddle Ball 
Straddle Pin Ball 
Swat Ball 
Tether Ball 

♦Toss Ball 
Touch Ball 
Two Old Cat 
Volley BaU 



♦Zigzag, Circle 
♦Zigzag, Line 



References 
Angell p. 74 
Angell p. 64 
Johnson p. 210 
Bancroft p. 387 
Johnson p. 210 
Angell p. 63 
Johnson p. 213 
Spalding No.41R 

Bancroft p. 388 

Angell p. 75 
Johnson p. 108 
Bancroft p. 393 
Spalding No. 43R 
Angell p. 63 
Bancroft p. 393 
Angell p. 92 
Spalding No. 43R 
Angell p. 91 
AngeU p. 68 
Johnson p. 174 
Bancroft p. 401 
Johnson p. 109 
Johnson p. 108 

Bancroft p. 353 

Bancroft p. 369 

Bancroft p. 402 
Angell p. 64 
Johnson p. 211 
Bancroft p. 404 
Johnson p. 171 
Bancroft p. 404 
Bancroft p. 406 
Angell p. 60 
Angell p. 61 
Angell p. 79 
Bancroft p. 409 
Spalding No. 43R 
Bancroft p. 412 
Angell p. 57 
Johnson p. 109 
AngeU p. 89 
Bancroft p. 413 
Johnson p. 213 
Spalding No. 43R 
Bancroft p. 419 
Bancroft p. 421 



Basketball. — References: Angell's Play (see p. 76) 

contains a chapter on ^'How to coach and play girls* 

basket ball." Full instructions are given in the 

Handbook of Athletic Games for Players, Instructors 

6 [811 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

and Spectators, by Jessie H. Bancroft and William 
Dean Pulvermacher (Macmillan, 1916; 627 p. $1.50). 
In the Spalding Athletic Library series (see p. 78), 
are the following handbooks: No. 7, Spalding^ s 
Official Basket Ball Guide; No. 7 A, Spalding's Offi- 
cial Women's Basket Ball Guide; and No. 193, How 
to Play Basket Ball. Regulations covering tourna- 
ments between clubs and school centers are to be 
found in Spalding's Public Schools Athletic League 
Official Handbook, No. 313. The price of each book- 
let is ten cents. 

Billiards. — For a discussion of the value of bilHards 
and pool-table features see pages 222-229 of The 
Church and the People's Play, by Henry A. Atkinson 
(Pilgrim Press, 1915; 259 p. $1.25). A catalogue 
describing the regulation-size billiard tables may be 
obtained from The Brunswick-Balke-Collender Com- 
pany, 623-633 South Wabash Avenue, Chicago, 111. 
Catalogues for smaller sized tables are issued both 
by the above-named firm and by the E. T. Burrowes 
Company, Portland, Me. 

Boxing. — References: Pages 214-216 of Johnson's 
Education by Plays and Games (see p. 78) ; and Box- 
ing, No. 25R of Spalding Athletic Library (seep. 78). 

Calisthenics. — The Spalding Athletic Library (see 
p. 78) contains a number of handbooks on calis- 
thenics, among them No. 22R, Indian Clubs and 
Dumb Bells and Pulley Weights. For other titles see 
paragraph below on Drills. 

Classroom games. — Those starred (*) under Ball 
games (p. 80), Miscellaneous games (p. 85) and 

[82] 



PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES 

Races (p. 86) have all been devised with a view to 
their use in classrooms having fixed seats. Ten pages 
of Harry Sperling's The Playground Book (Barnes, 
1916; 105 p. illus. $1.80) are devoted to classroom 
games, many of those described being among those 
referred to above. 

Drills. — The Spalding Athletic Library (see p. 78) 
includes the following: No. £14, Graded Calisthenics 
and Dumb Bell Drills (ten cents); No. lOR, Single 
Stick Drill; No. 16 R, Team Wand Drill; and No. 
27R, Calisthenic Drills and Fancy Marching for the 
Class Room (each 25 cents). 

Esthetic dancing. — Esthetic Dancing, by Emil 
Rath (Barnes; 28 illus. $1.60), contains the most 
valuable dance steps and movements, carefully 
graded and clearly described. 

Fencing. — The Spalding Athletic Library (see p. 
78) has the following books on this subject: No. 
IIR, Fencing Foil Work Illustrated, and No. 30R, 
The Art of Fencing (each 25 cents). Their publishers 
carry a complete line of fencing supplies. 

Folk dancing. — This dehghtful activity generally 
requires a trained instructor. Oftentimes the desire 
to form a class can be aroused by bringing in someone 
who has had special training in folk dancing for an 
introductory talk and demonstration. A skilful 
teacher can put a new class through several simple 
folk dances in a single evening. After this demon- 
stration the formation of a class will not be difficult, 
and as a rule the members will be willing to contribute 
in fees the compensation required by the instructor. 

[83] 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

References: For a general discussion of the value 
of folk dancing, see The Healthful Art of Dancing , by 
Luther H. Gulick (Doubleday, 1910; 273 p. illus. 
$1.40). For books containing descriptions of folk 
dances, together with the music and directions for 
their performance, consult the following: 

By Elizabeth Burchenal. — Dances of the People 
(Schirmer; paper $1.50, cloth $2.50) contains 27 
folk dances with music and directions. Dances of the 
People, a second volume of folk dances and singing 
games (Schirmer, 1913; 83 p. illus. paper $1.50, 
cloth $2.50), contains 27 folk dances of seven coun- 
tries. Folk Dances and Singing Games (Schirmer, 
1910; 92 p. paper $1.50, cloth $2.50) gives 65 
dances, many of them used in the Public Schools 
Athletic League of New York City. Folk Dances of 
Denmark and Folk Dances of Finland (Schirmer, 1915; 
95 and 87 p. respectively; illus. each, paper $1.50, 
cloth $2.50) contain 73 Danish and 65 Finnish 
dances. Folk-Dance Music, by Elizabeth Burchenal 
and C. Ward Crampton (Schirmer, 1908; 54 p. 
paper $1.00, cloth $2.00), is a collection of 76 char- 
acteristic dances of various nations. 

By C. Ward Crampton. — The Folk Dance Book 
(Barnes, 1910; 82 p. $1.60) contains music and 
descriptions of folk dances used in the New York 
City public schools. The Second Folk Dance Book 
(Barnes, 1913; illus. $1.60). 

By Caroline Crawford. — Folk Dances and Games 
(Barnes, 1909; 82 p. $1.60) contains 39 folk dances 
of various nations, with music and instructions. 

[841 



PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES 

Dramatic Games and Dances for Little Children 
(Barnes, 1914; 77 p. illus. $1.60) contains music 
and full directions, well illustrated. 

By Cecil J. Sharp.— The following books by this 
author are all on the folk dances of England. The 
Country Dance Book, in four parts (Novello: Ameri- 
can agent for all these books, Gray; 1909; each part, 
paper $1.25, cloth $1.75). Country Dance Tunes, 
with Pianoforte Accompaniment, in eight sets, two 
sets to accompany each part of the Country Dance 
Book (Novello ; 75 cents each set) . The Morris Book, 
A History of Morris Dancing, with a Description of 
Dances as Performed by the Morris-men of England, 
in five parts (Novello, 1912; each part, paper $1.25, 
cloth $1.75). Morris Dance Tunes, with Pianoforte 
Accompaniment, in ten sets (Novello, 1912; $1.00 
each), give the music for the Morris dances described 
in The Morris Book. The Sword Dances of Northern 
England, in three parts (Novello, 1912; each part, 
paper $1.25, cloth $1.75), and The Sword Dances of 
Northern England— Songs and Dance Airs, in three 
parts (Novello, 1912; each part $1.00); the first 
set is descriptive of the dances and the second set 
gives the songs and dance airs for these dances. 

Gymnastic competitions.— Reference : Official 
handbook of the I. C. A. A., Gymnasts of America, 
No. 335 in the Spalding Athletic Library (see p. 78), 
price ten cents. 

Jiujitsu.— Reference: Jiu Jitsu, No. 21R in the 
Spalding Athletic Library (see p. 78), price 25 cents. 

Miscellaneous games.— These include various 

[85] 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

games in which running, throwing and catching are 
combined. Those starred (*) are suitable for class- 
rooms with fixed desks. 



Game 
♦Bean Bag 

Boston 

Bull in the Ring 

♦Catch the Cane 
♦Changing Seats 
Drop the Hand- 
kerchief 

Duck on the 
Rock 

♦Faba Gaba 

Fox and Chick- 
ens 

Hill Dill 



References 

Bancroft p. 303 
Johnson p. 142 
Angell p. 133 
Angell p. 110 
Bancroft p. 56 
Bancroft p. 62 
Bancroft p. 63 

Angell p. 139 
Bancroft p. 80 

Bancroft p. 81 
Johnson p. 170 
Bancroft p. 304 
Johnson p. 110 

Angell p. 142 
Bancroft p. 124 
Angell p. 126 
Bancroft p. 105 



Game 

♦Kaleidoscope 
♦Last Man 
♦Old Man Tag 
Prisoner's Base 



♦Quoits 

♦Ring Toss 
♦Schoolroom Tag 

Siege 

Tenpins 
Test Mettle 
Three Deep Cir- 
cle 

Tommy Tiddler's 
Ground 



References 

Bancroft p. 122 
Bancroft p. 126 
Bancroft p. 142 
Angell p. 102 
Bancroft p. 157 
Johnson p. 160 
Johnson p. 174 
Spalding, No. 167 
Johnson p. Ill 
Bancroft p. 172 
Johnson p. 177 
Bancroft p. 174 
Johnson p. 212 
Johnson p. 1 1 1 
Johnson p. 214 

Angell p. 114 
Bancroft p. 196 

Bancroft p. 197 



Races. — With the development of indoor athletics 
a large number of contests involving short runs have 
been devised. Some of those which are suitable for 
school, gjonnasium and playground are given here- 
with. Those starred (*) can be played in classrooms 
having fixed seats. The references are to the books 
described on pages 76 to 78. 



Race 

All-up Indian 

Club Race 
♦All-up Relay 
♦Automobile Race 
♦Bag Pile 
Basket Ball Goal 
Race 

♦Bean Bag Relay 
♦Blackboard Re- 
lay 
Chariot Race 

Circle Relay 



References 

Spalding No. 314 
Bancroft p. 45 
Bancroft p. 48 
Bancroft p. 303 

Angell p. 77 
Bancroft p. 329 
Bancroft p. 312 

Bancroft p. 53 
Angell p. 121 
Johnson p. 169 
Bancroft p. 70 



Race 

♦Circle Seat Relay 
♦Double Relay 

Race 
♦Hopping Relay 
Race 
Human Burden 

Race 
Jumping Race 

Knapsack Race 
Leap Frog Race 
♦Mark Game Race 
Medicine Ball 
Pursuit Race 



References 
Bancroft p. 71 

Bancroft p. 76 

Bancroft p. 106 

Angell p. 120 
Bancroft p. 117 
Johnson p. 169 
Angell p. 124 
Angell p. 122 
Angell p. 150 
Angell p. 124 
Johnson p. 210 



[861 



PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES 

Race References Race References 

Obstacle Race Angell p. 120 Potato Spoon 

Johnson p, 169 Race Bancroft p. 155 

Tj -D n -D 1 Tj f4. one *Serpentine Race Johnson p. 177 

Pass Ball Relay Bancroft p. 395 Shuttle Relay Bancroft p. 173 

♦Potato Race Angell p. 117 Straddle Ball 

Bancroft p. 151 ^„^^^^%, 4°^^" ?' ^^L« 

Johnson p. 167 *Wand Race Bancroft p. 202 
Wheelbarrow 

Potato Shuttle Race Angell p. 123 

Relay Bancroft p. 154 Johnson p. 169 

Roller-skating. — Reference : Roller-Skating Guide, 
No. 282 in the Spalding Athletic Library (see p. 78), 
price ten cents. 

Singing games. — Activities of this nature are en- 
joyed usually only by small children. In most cities 
young children are not admitted to school centers 
evenings but they are in some places^ — especially in 
the congested districts. Bancroft's Games for the 
Playground, Home, School and Gymnasium (see p. 16) 
gives a section, on pages 261-293, to singing games, 
many of them being accompanied by the music. Mari 
R. Hofer's Children's Singing Games — Old and New 
(Flanagan; 42 large p. illus. 50 cents) contains 39 
singing games, complete with words, music and di- 
rections for playing. See also two works by Kate 

F. Bremner, A Book of Song Games and Ball Games, 
and More Song Games (Barnes; former, 40 p. $1.40; 
latter, 42 p. $1.60). 

Swimming. — Reference : At Home in the Water, by 

G. H. Corsan (Association Press, 1914; 197 p. illus. 
$1.00), devotes a section each to swimming, diving, 
life saving, water sports and natatoriums. How to 
Swim, No. 37 R in the Spalding Athletic Library (see 
p. 78), price 25 cents. 

[87] 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

Table games. — Under this head come such games 
as bagatelle, checkers, chess, dominoes, fox and 
geese, lotto, parchesi, ping pong, solitaire, and tit- 
tat-toe. References: Hoyle's Games, by "Trumps,^' 
(see p. 66), is a manual of instruction for checkers, 
chess, dominoes, dice, backgammon and billiards; 
also card games. How to Amuse an Evening Party 
(see p. 52), and Fireside Games (Dick; paper, 30 
cents) . 

Tumbling. — References: Tumbling for Amateurs, 
No. 56 R in the Spalding Athletic Library (see p. 78), 
price 25 cents. 

Water sports. — The following water sports, which 
are purely recreative and may be played without 
special training, are described on pages 155-161 of 
Angell's Play (see p. 76) : Find the coin, find the 
plate, keep the ball, pull away, water basket ball, 
water push ball, water tag and water tug-of-war. 
Corsan's At Home in the Water (see p. 87), in a chap- 
ter on Water Sports, describes a variety of races, and 
water polo, basket polo and water hockey. All of 
these can be arranged for the school natatorium. 

Wrestling. — References: Pages 179-180 of John- 
son's Education by Plays and Games (see p. 78). 
Wrestling, No. 18R, and How to Wrestle, No. J^Ifi in 
the Spalding Athletic Library (see p. 78), each 25 
cents 



[88] 



VIII 

SOCIAL OCCASIONS* 

Alice in Wonderland social. — This entertainment, 
described on pages 89-90 of Social Activities for 
Men and Boys (see p. 45), and devised to make 
more attractive the annual Y. M. C. A. ''Open 
House," can well be adapted to school-center occa- 
sions for acquainting the public with its activities. 
The guests are presented on their arrival to the ''King 
and Queen of Hearts" seated on a throne, and the 
building throughout is transformed by decorations 
into a real Wonderland; the guests are waited upon 
by Alice's friends, — the March Hare, the Cheshire 
Cat, the Cook, the Duchess, and many others, — 
who preside over the exhibit rooms, the Mad Tea 
Party, the concert given by the musical organiza- 
tions, the gymnasium affairs, the aquatic meet in the 
Pool of Tears, and similar features of the evening. 

Amateur circus. — "How to Promote and Conduct 
an Amateur Circus," forms a section (pages 69-78) 
in Social Activities for Men and Boys (see p. 45). 

Banquets. — Suggestions for a variety of banquets 
and dinners are given in Social Activities for Men and 
Boys (see p. 45), pages 31-34, and elsewhere in the 

*See explanatory note at the beginning of section I, p. 24. 

[89] 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

book. Ideas and suggestions for the conduct of 
dinners, luncheons, and teas are a leading feature of 
Entertainments for Every Occasion (see p. 42). 

Bazaars. — Novel ideas for bazaars are to be found 
in Entertainments for Every Occasion (see p. 42). 
Among the various kinds described are a cake sale; 
children's fair; old-time market; pedlers' parade, 
and strawberry regale. In Neighborhood Entertain- 
ments (see p. 45), there is a chapter on ^'Money- 
making Entertainments," pages 279-289, which de- 
scribes a Japanese fete, a Dutch fair or ''Kirmess" 
and a German coffee party. 

Carnivals. — As described in Suggestions for Com- 
munity Centers (see p. 35), this activity is much 
like a country circus. Side shows and various fea- 
tures are assigned to groups of young people. The 
musical talent of the community is set to work upon 
a minstrel show. Among the entertaining functions 
are such things as a fish pond, where people are given 
poles and lines to fish for various packages; a picture 
gallery; biggest man in the world; candy and peanut 
venders; songs and tales; scales which over-weigh; 
fortune tellers; races, and various forms of "take- 
offs." 

Celebrations. — Parties or entertainments in honor 
of some event or occasion. Holiday celebrations 
which have already been described (see p. 44) are 
generally of a patriotic type. In the celebration of 
New Year's Eve and Hallowe'en, the occasion takes 
on more of a social character and various forms of 
parties and other entertaining activities are in order. 

[901 



SOCIAL OCCASIONS 

Suggestions for celebrations may be found in Enter- 
tainments for Every Occasion (see p. 42), and in 
Social Activities for Men and Boys (see p. 45). 

Charades. — References : Frost's Dramatic Proverbs 
and Charades, Frost's Parlor Acting Charades, and 
Dick's Parlor Exhibitions (Dick; each, paper, 30 
cents); Comic Charades, Parts I and II, by Stanley 
Rogers (French, 40 cents each); Neighborhood En- 
tertainments (see p. 45); and Indoor Games and 
Socials for Boys, by G. Cornelius Baker (Association 
Press, 200 p. illus. 75 cents). 

Dances. — Social dancing parties are to be dis- 
tinguished from public dances. The former consti- 
tute a finer type of entertainment, since in them 
dancing becomes a vehicle for social life rather than 
an end in itself, as is too apt to be the case in public 
dancing. In a dancing party the enjoy ability is en- 
hanced by the fact that those selected for the occa- 
sion are generally bound by ties of association or 
acquaintanceship. To give variety, dancing parties 
may take different forms, among which the following 
are suggested: the Colonial dance, in which the 
minuet is a prominent feature; the contest dance, in 
which a prize is given to the couple dancing most 
gracefully; old-style dances and music set off against 
new-style; the old-fashioned dance; the funny 
dance, such as the scarecrow boys' costume dancing; 
costume dances, such as the black-and-white dance, 
in which all the costumes are confined to these two 
colors; and the ''leap year dance,'* in which the 
ladies invite the gentlemen to be their partners. 

[91] 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

Fake athletic meet. — This activity is well de- 
vised for getting new members acquainted with each 
other. It consists of such events as a twenty-yard 
dash, carrying an egg in a teaspoon from start to 
finish; the running broad grin, in which the con- 
testants stand facing the audience with an unchang- 
ing smile; the continuous glum event, in which the 
contestants try to stand before the audience without 
smiling while the latter guys them; the changeable 
horse laugh, etc. This entertainment and variations 
of it are fully described on pages 47, 87 and 122 of 
Social Activities for Men and Boys (see p. 45). 

Fortune-telling. — This may be a feature of a so- 
cial, or a fair or bazaar. For list of books giving in- 
structions consult the catalogue of Dick & Fitz- 
gerald. 

Mock auction. — In which packages containing 
inexpensive * 'take-off" articles are sold to the highest 
bidder. Described on page 273 of Neighborhood En- 
tertainments (see p. 45). 

Mock county fair. — In imitation of the traditional 
county fair in which booths are set up and various 
sorts of exhibits put in. Described on page 88 of 
Social Activities for Men and Boys (see p. 45). 

Parties. — Entertainments for Every Occasion (see 
p. 42), in a chapter on Miscellaneous Dinners and 
Parties, pages 131-208, describes the following par- 
ties, which can be adapted to school-center occasions : 
Bloomer social. Children's parties. Fortune-telling 
tea, Knickerbocker tea. Maize party, the Milk- 
maids' recreation, a New Year's tea, a Peanut party, 

192] 



SOCIAL OCCASIONS 

and the Queen's reception. Neighborhood Entertain- 
ments (see p. 45) gives the following: Travel party, 
page 245; Music-club social, page 250; Mother 
Goose party, page 253. Social Activities for Men and 
Boys (see p. 45) contains a long list of activities 
suitable for social occasions. Parties suitable for 
boys' clubs are described in detail in Indoor Games 
and Socials for Boys (see p. 91). Another book 
offering practical suggestions for entertaining small 
clubs is Social Entertainments, by Lillian Pascal Day 
(Moffat, 138 p. illus. $1.00). Original entertain- 
ments are suggested for each month in the year, and 
their respective holidays. 

Party games. — The following party games are de- 
scribed in Games for the Playground, Home, School and 
Gymnasium (see p. 77); Animal BHnd Man's Buff; 
Baste the Bear; Beast, Bird, or Fish; BHnd Bell; 
Cat and Rat; Crambo; Do This, Do That; Ex- 
change; Follow the Leader; Going to Jerusalem; 
Jacob and Rachel; Kaleidoscope; Menagerie; Ob- 
servation; Railroad Train; Stage Coach; Wee 
Bologna Man; The Beater Goes Around, or Whip 
Tag; Trades, A Game of Pantomime; Find the 
Ring. A section (pp. 254-258) is given in the above 
book to Forfeits. In Fireside Games (see p. 88), the 
following party games are described: Cat and Mouse; 
Copenhagen; Dutch Concert; The Elements; Hunt 
the Hare; The Huntsman; Philharmonic Concert; 
Twirl the Trencher; Trades, a Game of Pantomime; 
Catch the Ring. Games suitable for parties are to 
be found also in Indoor Games and Socials for Boys 

[93] 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

(see p. 91); Entertainments for Every Occasion (see 
p. 42); Neighborhood Entertainments (see p. 45); 
and Social Activities for Men and Boys (see p. 45). 

Refreshment service. — After meetings and social 
affairs light refreshments are sometimes offered. 
These will vary with the occasion and the facilities 
for serving them. Entertainments for Every Occasion, 
pages 207-208 (see p. 42), and pages 176-181 of 
Indoor Games and Socials for Boys (see p. 91), give 
various suggestions. 

Taflfy pulls. — A party, generally held in a domestic- 
science room or school kitchen, devoted to candy- 
making. When Mother Lets Us Make Candy, by 
Elizabeth and Louise Bache in ''When Mother Lets 
Us" series (Moffat, 75 cents), gives recipes for sweets 
from simplest to most complicated varieties. 

Trip around the world. — As described in Sugges- 
tions for Community Centers (see p. 35), this enter- 
tainment for rural neighborhoods consists in having 
the patrons ride around from house to house, at each 
of which a different form of entertainment is given. 
The first stop may be England, where persons dressed 
in English garb give a program of selections from 
Kipling, Dickens, or Shakespeare. Other houses 
represent other lands, as for instance, France, Italy, 
India, and Japan; and offer an appropriate program. 
This activity is susceptible of many ingenious forms 
and could be adapted to a school center by having 
the various entertainments in the different class- 
rooms. The starting point in the lobby might be 
called the Grand Terminal Station and criers an- 

[94] 



SOCIAL OCCASIONS 

nouncing the departure of steamers could set the 
different parties in motion. 

Trip to the moon. — ^As described on page 91 of 
Social Activities for Men and Boys (see p. 45), this 
consists of a sort of panoramic exhibition, with many 
taking part in character costume. The entire build- 
ing may be used, and as each party is conducted 
through the halls they come in contact with demons 
and various nondescript animals. Gusts of wind 
from electric fans, and flashes of lightning from elec- 
tric lights and strong reflectors, varied with thunder 
from a tin sheet and bowling balls, form some of the 
interesting features of the trip. Among the sights 
are the River Styx (the swimming pool), with small 
boat to ferry travelers over; the Chamber of Groans 
(a room full of giants), and Saturn's Den (a room 
filled with caged animals) ; Moon Pathway (corridor 
of good paintings) ; Delmonico's (refreshments) ; and 
Moon Station (gallery of pretty girls). For further 
suggestions see the book. 



[95] 



IX 

CLUB AND SOCIETY MEETINGS* 

One of the easiest ways of increasing the volume 
of school-center work is that of systematically ex- 
tending hospitality to voluntary associations. Since 
these societies largely take care of themselves they 
add httle to the expense or administrative burden 
of the center. Their activity usually proceeds from 
two or three moving spirits. Many such dyna- 
mic individuals exist in every community and often 
it requires only a word to hitch them to a cause and 
surround them with a following. Then comes the 
question of where the new organization, once it is 
formed, can meet, and this frequently is a problem 
hard to solve satisfactorily. The searching, enter- 
prising director who suggests to such leaders the 
open door of the schoolhouse can thus aid materially 
in the building up of a new and important associa- 
tion. 

The following Hst includes the names of societies 
which are found in neighborhoods and often have 
their meeting-place in the school building. Where 
they do not now exist they may be cultivated by 
dropping a suggestion in the ears of potential leaders 

* See explanatory note at the beginning of section I, p. 24, 

[96] 



CLUB AND SOCIETY MEETINGS 

and initiators of such groups. Their respective ac- 
tivities are so well known that little needs to be said 
regarding them. A few hints are given as to sources 
of leadership. 

Agricultural clubs. — Groups of boys and girls 
brought together for the purpose of pursuing some 
phase of rural-life activity. Among the subjects in 
which these clubs are interested may be mentioned 
corn-growing, hog-raising, canning, bread-making, 
sewing and home-making. Bulletins and pamphlets 
describing the organization and the conduct of these 
clubs may be obtained from the extension depart- 
ments of state colleges of agriculture, state boards of 
agriculture, state normal schools, and the United 
States Department of Agriculture, Washington, 
D. C. 

Alumni association. — A group of former graduates 
bonded together for the purpose of promoting the 
various interests of the school. While alumni as- 
sociations do exist at some elementary schools, they 
are found in greater viriHty at high schools and col- 
leges. Any old graduate of the school who Hves in the 
neighborhood and feels a desire to forward its inter- 
ests makes a potential leader of an alumni associa- 
tion. 

Athletic clubs. — Groups of young people associa- 
ted together for the purpose of pursuing some cer- 
tain indoor or outdoor form of sport. These are a 
very common type of organization and are easily set 
in operation. 

Boy Scouts. — While most of the scout activities 
7 [971 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

take place in the out-of-doors, the headquarters for 
scout patrols and local councils may well be afforded 
in school centers. For information regarding the 
formation and conduct of Boy Scouts, address the 
Boy Scouts of America, 200 Fifth Avenue, New York 
City. 

Boys' clubs. — References: Books for Boys and 
Workers among Boys (Association Press; paper, 25 
cents), is a valuable bibliography of books for those 
working with boys as well as for boys themselves. 
Guide to the Conduct of Meetings, by George T. Fish 
(Harper; 190 p. 50 cents), aims to teach young people 
by practice in a novel and entertaining manner the 
principles essential to the management of all public 
gatherings where a knowledge of parliamentary usage 
is needed. Boys' Clubs, by Charles S. Bernheimer 
and Jacob M. Cohen (Baker, 1914; 136 p. $1.00), is 
a practical guide for the club leader. Brief discus- 
sions on boy psychology, value of the club, its leader 
and his problems, and girls' clubs, are followed by 
suggestions for conducting club work. Contains a 
brief parliamentary guide, lists of themes for debates, 
topics for discussions, subjects for literary meetings, 
declamations and plays, a model constitution, etc. 
Boys' Self-governing Clubs, by Winifred Buck (Mac- 
millan, 1903; 218 p. 50 cents), sets forth the knowl- 
edge gained from personal experience T\dth boys' 
clubs. It contains many concrete suggestions for the 
club director. Boy Life and Self-government, by G. 
W. Fiske (Association Press, $1.00), discusses such 
problems as boy life in the light of the race life, the 

[98] 



CLUB AND SOCIETY MEETINGS 

boy and his instincts, his struggles for character, the 
epochs of boyhood and youth, clubs for boys, by- 
laws of boy leadership, the boy's home and religion. 

Camp Fire Girls. — A kindergarten or a classroom 
with movable seats makes a good meeting place for 
Camp Fire Girls. For information address the Camp 
Fire Girls of America, 461 Fourth Avenue, New York 
City. Reference : Book of the Camp Fire Girls (Camp 
Fire Girls, 1915; 128 p. illus. 25 cents) contains 
information about the organization in general, its 
emblems, costumes, ceremonies, and honors. The 
revised edition gives the latest information concern- 
ing ''business honors" and the organization of local 
camp fires. 

Civic clubs. — Associations of women and some- 
times of men and women, as well as young people, 
having the purpose of improving local conditions by 
means of an awakened civic spirit. Suggestions as to 
programs and lines of activity may be found in the 
printed matter of the General Federation of Women's 
Clubs, for which apply to Mrs. Mary I. Wood, 
Bureau of Information, General Federation of 
Women's Clubs, Portsmouth, N. H. Other sugges- 
tions may be obtained by addressing the American 
Civic Association, 913-914 Union Trust Building, 
Washington, D. C, and the monthly periodical The 
American City (Civic Press, $3.00 per year). See 
also references under Civics (p. 105). 

Committee meetings. — Committees or associa- 
tions already meeting in the schoolhouse or even 
those not located in the building may sometimes be 

[991 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

accommodated in the principal's office or some class- 
room. Temporary groups of citizens are sometimes 
called provisional committees, etc. They may well 
be accommodated in the school center. 

Community-center association. — A society organ- 
ized for the specific purpose of carrying on or assist- 
ing in the maintenance or conduct of community 
centers. The Community Center (publication office 
Mount Morris, 111.; annual subscription 50 cents), 
the monthly organ of the National Community Cen- 
ter Association, is a valuable informational guide for 
local associations. Practical suggestions for starting 
or furthering a school-center movement are given in 
First Steps in Community Center Development (32 p. 
10 cents) and other publications of the Department 
of Recreation, Russell Sage Foundation, 130 East 
22nd Street, New York. 

Dramatic clubs. — Societies devoted to the study 
of the drama or to the production of plays and 
dramas. A leader or a coach may oftentimes be 
found in the person of some retired actor or actress, 
or an instructor of English in a high school or college. 
See references under Theatricals (p. 52). 

Fathers' club. — An association of parents who are 
especially interested in local school affairs. Such 
clubs frequently exercise a continuous oversight in 
regard to the physical arrangements and hygienic 
conditions at the school, and are active in plans for 
new buildings or facilities, and any other matter 
affecting the local education facihties. 

Girl Scouts. — ^An organization for girls similar to 

1100] 



CLUB AND SOCIETY MEETINGS 

the Boy Scouts of America. For information address 
Girl Scouts, Inc., 527 Fifth Avenue, New York. 

Girls' clubs. — Conducted in much the same way as 
boys' clubs. Leaders for these clubs may be found 
among teachers, kindergartners, and college women. 
For references see some of those given under Boys' 
clubs, page 98. 

Little mothers' clubs. — Groups of girls upon whom 
falls much of the care of younger brothers and sisters. 
Conducted in some cities by nurses' committees or 
the health department; and may also be organized 
and run by school nurses. 

Mothers' club. — A society found in many schools, 
which generally meets in the late afternoon in the 
kindergarten room, and is often organized by the 
kindergartner. The organization and conduct of 
mothers' clubs is fully described in Home and School, 
by Mrs. Mary Van Meter Grice (Sower; 154 p. 60 
cents). See also Chapter II of Wider Use of the School 
Plant (see p. 27), and Programs and Loan Papers for 
Mothers' Associations issued by the Mother's Maga- 
zine (Cook; free pamphlet). The Mother's Magazine 
(Cook; yearly subscription $1.50) also publishes for 
free distribution a pamphlet entitled A Key to Child 
Training and Complete List of Books for Child Study, 
by M. V. O'Shea (Cook). Information regarding the 
organization of mothers' clubs may be obtained from 
the Personal Service Bureau of this magazine and 
from the National Congress of Mothers and Parent- 
teacher Associations, 910 Loan and Trust Building, 
Washington, D. C. The official organ of the National 

[lOlJ 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

Congress is The Child-Welfare Magazine (Child- Wel- 
fare Company; yearly subscription SI. 00). Another 
source of information is The Children's Bureau, U. S. 
Department of Labor, Washington, D. C, which 
will send free of charge on request copies of its publi- 
cations. 

Musical organizations. — Banjo and mandolin 
clubs, glee clubs, choral societies, orchestras, drum 
corps and brass bands may be encouraged to meet 
at the school center by offering places for rehearsal. 
These organizations can frequently be started by 
finding a leader and helping to secure members, and 
may usually be made self-supporting. 

Neighborhood improvement association. — This is 
a common form of the taxpayers' association, com- 
posed of residents of the neighborhood who are in- 
terested in all kinds of physical and public-service 
improvements. Sewers, transportation, street light- 
ing, educational facilities, and mosquito extermina- 
tion are some of the matters which concern this form 
of association, for which the school center is a logical 
meeting-place. 

Newsboys' club. — A society of newsboys banded 
together for social, recreation and educational pur- 
poses. Leaders may be sometimes found among pub- 
lic-spirited college men, school teachers, or Y. M. C. A. 
men. 

Parent-teacher association. — A society composed 
of parents and teachers interested in all that con- 
cerns children. For references see those given under 
Mothers' club, page 101. 

1 102 1 



CLUB AND SOCIETY MEETINGS 

Society meetings. — See paragraph under this head 
on page 33. 

Woman's club. — Organizations of this well-known 
type have more often been the promoters of school- 
center activities than the beneficiaries of them. New 
women's clubs are, however, constantly arising and 
growing in importance. There is no intrinsic reason 
why a woman's club which originated in a school 
center should not grow into an independent body 
having its own quarters and identity apart from the 
school center. Embryonic organizations of this kind 
will be helped by the following sources of information 
regarding parliamentary procedure and programs: 

Club Woman's Handybook of Programs and Club 
Management, by Kate L. Roberts (Funk; 194 p. 75 
cents). 

Complete Club Booh for Women, and Work and Pro- 
grams for Women's Clubs, two books by Caroline 
French Benton (Page, each $1.25). 

Practical Programs for Women's Clubs, by Alice 
Hazen Cass (McClurg; 168 p. 75 cents), suggests 
programs on Home Economics, Social Philanthropy, 
Education, Public Health, Art, Music, Travel, etc., 
with bibliography for each program. 

The Woman's Manual of Parliamentary Law, by 
H. R. Shattuck (Lothrop; 75 cents). 



103] 



X 

VOLUNTARY CLASSES* 

The activities to be considered in this section are 
organized in much the same way as the handicraft 
activities described in section IV. Both contemplate 
groups of persons who have voluntarily come to- 
gether for study or training of a more or less sys- 
tematic character. These classes, in respect to for- 
mality and seriousness, lie somewhere between the 
night school and the club. The classes under this 
head are made up generally of somewhat older per- 
sons than those in the handicraft groups. They are 
also more apt to be mixed as to sex. Wherever three 
or four individuals are found who have a serious 
interest in some form of intellectual improvement, 
there is the material for a voluntary class. With a 
nucleus of several persons having a similar interest, 
others can usually be found without much difficulty. 
Transforming a club into a working organization is 
then accomplished by finding a leader. Such clubs 
by means of fees will ordinarily be able to recompense 
their leader and even provide for any incidental 
expenses. 

Art. — The purpose of the class may be the study of 

* See explanatory note at the beginning of section I, p. 24. 

[104] 



VOLUNTARY CLASSES 

the history or appreciation of the graphic arts or 
may be that of training for the practice of painting, 
sketching, etching, sculpturing, photography, or 
any other form of graphic art. Instructors for such 
groups can generally be secured somewhere among 
the artists of the community or the art department 
of the high school or the local college. The leader 
will be best able to suggest whatever textbook is 
used. The Prang Company, A. Flanagan Company, 
and Milton Bradley Company are well-known pub- 
lishers of art textbooks for all grades of students. 

Civics. — The study of governmental institutions 
is of interest both to foreigners who are taking out 
naturalization papers, and to all persons, young and 
old, who wish to become active in civic reform. 
Leadership for such groups may be sought among 
Y. M. C. A. men and in the faculty of the local high 
school or college. Sometimes young lawyers will 
undertake this service. References: Leaders of such 
groups for young people will find useful the Handbook 
of Civics Club Work with Suggestive Programs for 
Several Types of Clubs, by Charles Kandel (City 
History Club, 1914; 20 p. 15 cents). It gives out- 
lines of programs for classes in both local and general 
civics and for a civic council. Civics for Coming 
Americans (see p. 29) contains the questions and 
answers which new Americans have to answer. 
Civics for New Americans, by Mabel Hill and Philip 
Davis (Houghton, 1915; 125 p. illus. 80 cents) is 
used in some evening schools. Course in Citizenship, 
by Ella Lyman Cabot and others (Houghton, 1914; 

[105] 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

386 p. $1.25), is adapted particularly for young folks. 
First Lessons in Civics, by S. E. Forman (American 
Book Co.; 224 p. 60 cents), gives an outline of 
American civics in simple language and from the 
legal point of view. American Civics, by A. G. Fra- 
denburg (Hinds; 285 p. $1.15), explains the work 
of the federal departments, and state and town 
offices. Civil Government, by Paul Reinsch (Sanborn; 
258 p. 60 cents), is written in simple language and 
illustrated with views of public works and buildings. 
Preparing for Citizenship, by William Backus Guit- 
teau (Houghton, 1913; 238 p. illus. maps, 75 cents) 
an elementary text-book in civics, lays stress upon 
the spirit and functions of government rather than 
on its form, and emphasizes the ethical side of civics. 

Civil service. — A common form of mutual study 
class for preparation for some branch of the civil 
service. Oftentimes a class of this kind will get along 
with a minimum of leadership, the consistent fol- 
lowing out of the course of study being the main 
necessity of such a course. How to Prepare for a 
Civil Service Examination, with Recent Questions and 
Answers, by Francis E. Leupp (Hinds; 585 p. $2.20), 
also Abridged Edition, without Questions and An- 
swers (paper, 55 cents), covers in detail all branches 
of the civil service. 

Cooking. — Instructors for cooking classes can 
generally be found among the domestic-science 
teachers of the pubhc schools. References: Boston 
Cooking School Cook Book, by Mrs. Fannie Merritt 
Farmer (Little; $1.80), is a widely used textbook. 

[106] 



VOLUNTARY CLASSES 

The School Kitchen Textbook, by Mrs. Mary J. Lin- 
coln (Little, 1915; 60 cents; course of study free), is 
also popular for grammar schools or the smaller high 
schools; it is planned for two years, with two lessons 
a week, and has an appendix containing 32 lessons on 
sewing. Foods and Household Management, by Helen 
Kinne and Anna M. Cooley (Macmillan, 1914; 386 
p. $1.10), covers household management, budgets, 
menus, food purchase and values and some simple 
recipes. 

Current events. — A common form of general in- 
formation improvement class, the organization of 
which depends entirely upon securing a leader. Per- 
sons having the proper equipment for this work can 
be looked for among college or high-school instructors 
in modern history. Sometimes a newspaper editor 
or an exceptionally well-informed club- woman will be 
able to handle this work. For young people, a con- 
densed account of all important news is to be found 
in the weekly school paper Current Events (Educa- 
tional Press Co. ; single subscription for school year, 
40 cents; 30 subscriptions or more to one address, 
20 cents; under 30 but not less than 4, 25 cents). 

English for foreigners. — A type of work often 
found in evening schools but which may also be car- 
ried on in the school center. Any teacher of English 
or language should be able to handle a course of this 
character. References: First Lessons in English 
for Foreigners, by Frederick Houghton (American 
Book Co.; 150 p. 40 cents), is a practical book for 
the teacher; common objects, minerals, tools, etc., 

[1071 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

are used to illustrate sentence building. Contains 
views of cities and industries and vocabulary in 
English, German, Polish, Italian and Yiddish. Les- 
sons in English for Foreign Womenj by Ruth Austin 
(American Book Co.; 159 p. 35 cents), consists of 
well graded lessons with vocabulary of particular 
interest to women. A set entitled English for Coming 
Americans, by Peter Roberts (Association Press, 
1917), consists of the following books: Teacher's 
Manual (105 p. cloth, 50 cents) gives detailed direc- 
tions for the Roberts method of teaching English by 
ear. Three Beginner's Readers (Nos. 1 and 2, 15 
cents each; No. 3, 20 cents) contain stories, fables 
and legends. Advanced Course: American History (50 
cents) is for those who understand English fairly well. 
The series also contains Civics for Coming Americans 
(see p. 29), Lesson Leaves (5 cents per series), Teach- 
er's Aids (10 cents per series). Teaching Charts 
($1.25), and Conversation Cards (60 cents per series). 

First aid. — A graduate trained nurse or a physician 
makes a good leader for a class interested in the first 
care to be given to the wounded. Reference : Ameri- 
can Red Cross Abridged Text-hook on First Aid, 
Woman's edition, by Major Charles Lynch (Blakis- 
ton, 30 cents). 

Household science and art. — The domestic science 
department of the public schools is well qualified to 
furnish teachers for these classes. Two good works 
on Domestic Economy are Increasing Home Efficiency, 
by Martha B. and Robert W. Bruere (Macmillan, 
1912; 295 p. $1.25) and Christine Frederick's The 

[1081 



VOLUNTARY CLASSES 

New Housekeeping; Efficiency Studies in Home Man- 
agement (Doubleday, 1913; 266 p. $1.25). Home 
Furnishing, Practical and Artistic, by Alice M. 
Kellogg (Stokes, 1905; 265 p. 55 illus. $1.60), sug- 
gests appropriate furnishings and decorations for the 
different parts of the home. Art in Dress, with Notes 
on Home Decoration (see p. 59) treats of principles 
of line, color, design, etc., in home decoration. 

Languages. — The leading modern languages, Ger- 
man, French, Italian and Spanish, are usually sub- 
jects of interest for voluntary groups. After the 
class has determined upon the language which it 
wishes to study, the next step is finding the teacher. 
A quahfied instructor can be found usually in the 
faculty of the local high school or college or in the 
person of some well-educated foreigner speaking the 
desired tongue. He will usually be able to suggest a 
suitable textbook. 

Literature. — A class in this subject usually devotes 
itself to a course of reading or a study of literary 
masterpieces. The organization of this course is 
ordinarily a matter for the leader, since oftentimes 
the class itself rarely knows what it wants. Leaders 
can be sought among the faculty of the local high 
school or college, or among the members of a promi- 
nent literary club. 

Music. — A music class may devote itself to the 
history or appreciation of music or to the practice of 
music in either vocal or instrumental form. Of 
course, only such as are susceptible to group activi- 
ties are feasible. For example, the study of the piano 

[109] 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

would not be practicable for a class of this sort, while 
choral singing would be. After the group has de- 
termined the precise branch of music it wishes to 
study, it may look for its director in some of the local 
musical circles. 

Naturalization qualifications. — Any teacher can 
act as the leader of a group desiring to prepare itself 
to take out citizenship papers. References: Civics 
for Coming Americans (see p. 29). The purpose of 
this booklet is to put within reach of the foreigner, 
having a fair command of the English language, such 
information as is required to pass the examinations 
for naturalization; also to provide intelligent guid- 
ance for those patriots who would gladly help ''com- 
ing Americans," but have no knowledge either of the 
alien's needs or of the laws regulating the process of 
naturalization. How to Obtain Citizenship, by 
Nathaniel Fowler, Jr. (Sully, 1913; 288 p. $1.50), 
contains miscellaneous information about the federal 
and state governments in Italian, Yiddish, German 
and French. 



[110] 



SAMPLE PROGRAMS 

The following programs are examples of school- 
center occasions from various parts of the country. 
They are given here for their value as suggestions, 
rather than as descriptions of the work in the various 
cities named. 



I. AUDITORIUM PROGRAMS 
A CINCINNATI SCHOOL CENTER 

Date, an evening in May 

1-— Anthem, by Roumanian Men's Choir 

2.— Viohn Solo 

3.— Pianola Selection, 12th Rhapsody, by Liszt 

4.— Folk Song, ''Mischka Came Clad in Red," by Y. W. 

C. A. Choral Class 
5.— Piano Solo, Hungarian Rhapsody No. 1, by Liszt 
6.— Hungarian Dance, ''The Czardas," by school children 
7.— Tenor Solo, Aria from opera, "John the Hero" 
8. — Concerto for Viohn and Piano 
^-—Hungarian Folk Dances, by two young ladies 

10.— Group of Folk Songs 

11.— Folk Dance, "Modjanet Maganak," by Y. W. C. A. 
junior g5annasium girls 

12.— Chorus, "The Star-Spangled Banner" 

nil] 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

A PATRIOTIC EVENING IN A SOUTH BEND CENTER 

1. — Song, "America" (music and words thrown on the 

screen) 
2. — ^Announcements 
3. — Motion pictures depicting notable events preceding 

the American Revolution 
4. — Address on "Spirit of the American Constitution" by 

a member of the High School faculty 
5. — General discussion by the audience 
6. — Song, "Battle Hymn of the RepubHc," by the audience 



A WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION IN 
LOUISVILLE 

George Washington, impersonated by a member of the 

Young Men's Club 
Martha Washington, impersonated by a member of the 

Woman's Club 
1. — The Star-Spangled Banner. . .Social Center Orchestra 
2. — George Washington 

A Member of the Board of Education 
3. — Recitations and Songs 

Children of the Third and Fourth Grade 
4. — ^A Folk Dance, in costume 

Social Center Folk-Dance Club 
5.— Song, "Mount Vernon Bells" 

Afternoon Social Center Children 
6. — Songs and Poems 

Children of the Third, Second, and First Grades 
7. — Washington's Tree 

A Game played by the Woman's Club 

8.— "At Whittier Social Center" A Skit in One Act 

[112] 



SAMPLE PROGRAMS 

Cast of Characters: — 
Director of the Social Center 
Assistant 

Four appHcants for positions as Club Leaders 
9. — Finale: "America" Orchestra and Audience 



A LINCOLN'S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION IN NEW 

YORK 

Speakers: A Park Commissioner, a prominent author 
(subject, "Lincoln"), the secretary to a Borough Presi- 
dent, the head of a social settlement for Italians (subject, 
in Italian, "Successful Italians in America"). Inter- 
spersed among the above addresses were vocal and piano 
solos. 

A ST. PATRICK'S DAY PROGRAM 

1. — Selection by The Harmony Band 

2. — Irish Dance, by girls of Social Center 

3. — Chorus, by the Glee Club of the Social Center 

4. — Irish Jig, by boys of AH Saints 

5.— Tenor Solo, "Molly Brannigan" 

6. — ^Violin Selection, "Elves of Ireland" 

7.— Recitation, "Missin' the Children" 

8. — Soprano Solo, "The Last Rose of Summer" 

9. — Four-hand Jig, by four young ladies 
10. — Recitation, "Dark Rosaleen" 
XL — Hornpipe, by boys of All Saints 
12.— Tenor Solo, "The Old Plaid Shawl" 
13. — Reel, by a young lady 
14. — Four-hand Reel, by four adults 
15. — "The Social Center," an address 
16. — Selection, by|The Harmony Band 
8 [ 113 ] 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

A COMMUNITY MUSIC FESTIVAL IN CHICAGO 

Part 1.— Contributions to America from the Old World 

1. — Two songs from Sweden and Norway sung by the 
Lyric Male Chorus 

2. — Four German songs by the Choir of St. Mark's 
Church 

3. — Four songs from Bohemia by United Bohemian 
Singing Societies 

4. — Three Polish songs by the Kurpinski Singing So- 
ciety assisted by St. Casimir's Church Choir 

Part II. — American Patriotic and Folk Songs 

1. — Eight American Patriotic and Folk Songs sung by 

the audience, led by the high-school glee clubs 
2. — ^Address by a Member of the Chicago Board of 

Education 
3.— Closing Song, ''My Country, Tis of Thee." 

TOPICS DISCUSSED IN A NEW YORK CITY SCHOOL 

FORUM 

1. — "The Humanization of Public Health," by the Chief 
Medical Examiner of the Municipal Civil Service 
Commission 

2. — "What the Board of Education is Doing for Your 
Children," by a Member of the Board of Educa- 
tion 

3.— "Building a New Man," by a Medical College Pro- 
fessor 

4. — "What Constitutes a Good Jew," by a prominent 
Jew 

5. — "Other People's Money," by a Lawyer and Pubhcist 

6. — "What It Means to Me to Be a Representative of 
the East Side in Congress," by a Congressman 
[114] 



SAMPLE PROGRAMS 

II. PROGRAMS REQUIRING MORE THAN 
ONE ROOM 

A BOSTON HIGH SCHOOL CENTER, WEDNESDAY 
EVENING PROGRAM 

Assembly Hall Adult Civic Club 

Gymnasium Folk Dancing 

Library Junior City Council 

Lunch Rooms Brass-Band Rehearsals 

Games Rooms 

Novelty Sewing Clubs and Orchestra Rehearsals 
Classrooms 

Mixed Chorus, Dramatic Club, Mandolin Club 



A WEEK'S PROGRAM IN A NEW YORK CITY 
SCHOOL CENTER 

Free Athletic Exhibition. 
Public Dancing, admission ten cents 
Concert Singing, admission by free ticket 
The Mikado, admission ten cents (opera 
performed by fifty children under direc- 
tion of a rabbi of the Young Men's He- 
brew Association) 
Public Dancing, admission ten cents 
RoUer-Skating, admission five cents 



Monday. 
Tuesday. 
Wednesday. 
Thursday. 



Friday. 
Saturday. 



III. WEEKLY PROGRAMS REQUIRING 
SEVERAL ROOMS 

JERSEY CITY SCHOOL CENTER PROGRAM 

Tuesday. Young Men's Club in Literature and Public 
Speaking 
Young Women's Clubs devoted to Choral 
Singing, Arts and Crafts, and Literature 
Thursday. Public Dancing 

[115] 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

GRAND RAPIDS SCHOOL CENTERS 

Finney School: — 

Wednesday. Young Men's Athletic Club (rehearsing 
Mock Trial) 
Young Women's Recreation Class 
Thursday. Boy Scouts 

Rehearsal of Operetta 
Friday. Public Motion-Picture Entertainment 

Palmer School: — 
Tuesday. Adults' Literary Society 

Boy Scouts 

Cooking 

Gu-ls' Glee Club 

Millinery 
Thursday. Boy Scouts 

Sewing 

Young Men's Club (Boxing and Wresthng) 

Young Women's Recreation Class 

Sigsbee School: — 

Tuesday. Children's Chorus 

Married Women's Physical Training Class 
Thursday. Foreigners' Civic Class 

Boy Scouts 

Straight School: — 

Tuesday. Boy Scouts 
Cooking 
Dressmaking 

Young Men's Athletic Club (Minstrel re- 
hearsal) 
Young Women's Recreation Class 
Friday. Illustrated Lecture or Public Entertain- 

ment 

[1161 



SAMPLE PROGRAMS 

A WEEK'S PROGRAM IN A LOUISVILLE SCHOOL 

CENTER 

(Afternoon occasions omitted) 
Tuesday. Gymnasium for Men and Boys 

Housekeepers' Conference 
Thursday. Gymnasium for Girls 

Adult Clubs 
Friday. General Entertainments, such as the fol- 

lowing: — 

Violin duet Two ladies 

Vocal solo A young woman 

Lecture on Oral Hygiene . A dentist 
Reading from "Uncle Remus" 

An elocutionist 

Stories Two young ladies 

Violin duet Two young ladies 



A WEEK'S PROGRAM IN A NEW YORK SCHOOL 

CENTER 

Monday. Women's Sewing and Millinery Clubs 

Choral Club for Men and Women 

Woman's Suffrage Club 

Men's Gynmasium Class 
Tuesday. Social Dancing for Adults 

Men's Gymnasium Class 

Dramatic Club 

Camp Fire Girls 
Wednesday. Basket-ball Classes for Women and Girls 

Club Dances for Young People 

Women's Sewing and Millinery Clubs 
Thursday. Public Forum 

Men's Gymnasium Class 

Young Women's Gynmasium Class 
[1171 



COMMUNITY CENTER ACTIVITIES 

Friday. Men's Gymnasium Class 

Dramatic Club 
Saturday. Basket-ball Classes for Women and Girls 
Club Dances for Young People 
Study and Game Rooms open every night 



[118 



PUBLISHERS' NAMES AND ADDRESSES 

Allen Brothers, Ruskin House, 44 Rathbone Place, London, 

England 
American Book Co., 100 Washington Square, E., New York 

City 
American City, The, The Civic Press, 154 Nassau Street, New 

York City 
American Pageant Asaociation, Secretary, Miss Virginia 

Tanner, 26 Arlington St., Cambridge, Mass. 
American Sports Publishing Co., 45 Rose Street, New York 

City 
Appleton: D. Appleton & Co., 29-35 West 32nd Street, New 

York City 
Association Press, 124 East 28th Street, New York City 

Baker: Baker & Taylor Co., 354 Fourth Avenue, New York 

City 
Barnes: The A. S. Barnes Co., 381 Fourth Avenue, New York 

City 
Birchard: C. C. Birchard & Co., Boston, Mass. 
Blakiston's: P. Blakiston's Son & Co., Philadelphia, Pa. 
Boy Scouts of America, 200 Fifth Avenue, New York City 
Bradley: Milton Bradley Co., Springfield, Mass. 
Butterick: Butterick Publishing Co., 223 Spring Street, New 

York City 

Camp Fire Girls of America, 461 Fourth Avenue, New York 
City 

Century: The Century Co., 353 Fourth Avenue, New York 
City 

Children's Bureau, The, U. S. Department of Labor, Washing- 
ton, D. C. 

Child-Welfare Magazine, Child-Welfare Co., P. O. Box 4022, 
West Philadelphia, Pa. 

City History Club of New York, 105 West 40th Street, New 
York City 

[1191 



PUBLISHERS' NAMES AND ADDRESSES 

Civic Press, 154 Nassau Street, New York City 
Community Forum, The, 710 Ford Building, Boston, Mass. 
Cook: David C. Cook Publishing Co., Elgin, 111. 
Current Events, Educational Press Co., Springfield, Mass. 

Davol: Davol Publishing Co., North Attleboro, Mass. 

Department of Education, 500 Park Avenue, New York City 

Department of Education, State of Washington, Olympia, 
Wash. 

Department of Recreation, Russell Sage Foundation, 130 
East 22nd Street, New York City 

Department of Surveys and Exhibits, Russell Sage Founda- 
tion, 130 East 22nd St., New York City 

Dick: Dick & Fitzgerald, 18 Vesey Street, New York City 

Ditson: Oliver Ditson Co., 150 Tremont Street, Boston, Mass. 

Division of Education, RusseU Sage Foundation, 160 East 
22nd Street, New York City 

Division on Industrial Studies, Russell Sage Foundation, 130 
East 22nd Street, New York City 

Doubleday: Doubleday, Page & Co., Garden City, N. Y. 

Drama League of America, 736 Marquette Building, Chicago, 
111. 

Dramatic Publishing Co., 542 South Dearborn Street, Chi- 
cago, 111. 

Duffield: Duffield & Co., 211 West 33rd Street, New York 
City 

Dutton: E. P. Dutton & Co., 681 Fifth Avenue, New York 
City 

Educational Press Co., Springfield, Mass. 

Fernald: Fernald & Co., 719 Twenty-first Street, N. W., 
Washington, D. C. 

Flanagan: A. Flanagan Co., 521 South Wabash Avenue, Chi- 
cago, 111. 

French: Samuel French, 28 West 38th Street, New York City 

Funk: Funk & Wagnalls Co., 354 Fourth Avenue, New York 
City 

[120] 



PUBLISHERS' NAMES AND ADDRESSES 

General Federation of Women's Clubs, Bureau of Informa- 
tion, Portsmouth, N. H. 
Ginn: Ginn& Co., 15 Ashburton Place, Boston, Mass. 
Girl Scouts, Inc., 527 Fifth Avenue, New York City 
Gray: H. W. Gray Co., 2 West 45th Street, New York City 
Griffith: The Griffith and Rowland Press, 16 Ashburton Place, 
Boston, Mass. 

Harper: Harper & Bros., Franklin Square, New York City 
Hinds: Hinds, Hayden & Eldredge, Inc., 11-15 Union Square 

West, New York City 
Holt: Henry Holt & Co., 19 West 44th Street, New York City 
Houghton: Houghton, Mifflin Co., 4 Park Street, Boston, 

Mass. 
Huebsch: B. W. Huebsch, 225 Fifth Avenue, New York City 

Illustrated Milliner Co., 656 Broadway, New York City 

Journal of Educational Psychology, Warwick & York, Balti- 
more, Md. 

Lippincott: J. B. Lippincott Co., East Washington Square, 

Philadelphia, Pa. 
Little: Little, Brown & Co., 34 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass. 
Longmans: Longmans, Green & Co., 443 Fourth Avenue, 

New York City 
Lothrop: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co., 93 Federal Street, 

Boston, Mass. 

McClurg: A. C. McClurg & Co., 330-352 East Ohio Street, 

Chicago, 111. 
Macmillan: The Macmillan Co., 64 Fifth Avenue, New York 

City 
Manual Arts Press, Peoria, 111. 
Moffat: Moffat, Yard & Co., 116-120 West 32nd Street, 

New York City 
Mother's Magazine, The, David C. Cook PubUshing Co., 

Elgin, 111. 

[121] 



PUBLISHERS' NAMES AND ADDRESSES 

National Child Welfare Exhibit Association, Inc., 70 Fifth 

Avenue, New York City 
National Congress of Mothers and Parent-teacher Associa- 
tions, 910 Loan and Trust Bldg., Washington, D. C. 
National Vocational Guidance Association, Secretary, W. 
Carson Ryan, Jr., Bureau of Education, Washington, 
B.C. 
Newson: Newson & Co., 73 Fifth Avenue, New York City 
New York Public Library, 476 Fifth Avenue, New York City 
Novello & Co., Ltd., London, England. American agents, 
H. W. Gray Co. (q. v.) 

Page: Louis C. Page & Co., 53 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass. 
Pilgrim Press, The, 14 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass. 
Playground, The, Playground and Recreation Association of 

America, 1 Madison Avenue, New York City 
Prang Company, The, 30 Irving Place, New York City 

Rand: Rand, McNally & Co., 42 East 22nd Street, New York 

City 
Russell Sage Foundation, 130 East 22nd Street, New York 

City 

Sanborn: Benjamin H. Sanborn & Co., 15 West 38th Street, 
New York City 

Schirmer: G. Schirmer, 3 East 43rd Street, New York City 

School Arts Publishing Co., Boston, Mass. 

Sower: Christopher Sower Co., 124 North 18th Street, Phila- 
delphia, Pa. 

Stokes: Frederick A. Stokes Co., 443-449 Fourth Avenue, 
New York City 

Sturgis: Sturgis & Walton Co., 31-33 East 27th Street, New 
York City 

Sully: Sully & Kleinteich, 373 Fourth Avenue, New York City 

Survey: The Survey Associates, Inc., 112 East 19th Street, 
New York City 

[1221 



PUBLISHERS' NAMES AND ADDRESSES 

U. S. Bureau of Education, Washington, D. C. 
U, S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 
University of Chicago Press, 58th Street & Ellis Avenue, Chi- 
cago, 111. 
University of Texas, Austin, Texas. 

Vocation Bureau of Boston, 6 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass. 

Warwick & York, Baltimore, Md. 
Wilson: H. W. Wilson Co., White Plains, N. Y. 
Witmark: M. Witmark & Sons, 144 West 37th Street, New 
York City 

Yale University Press, 209 Elm Street, New Haven, Conn. 



123 



INDEX TO ACTIVITIES 



Aeroplane-making, 57 
Agricultural clubs, 97 
Alice in Wonderland social, 89 
Alumni association, 97 
Amateur circus, 89 
Amateur nights, 40 
Apparatus work, 79 
Archery, 79 

Arithmetical calculations, 65 
Art, 104 

Athletic clubs, 97 
Athletic feats, 79 



Baby conferences, 70 
Bag-punching, 80 
BaU games, 80 
Banquets, 89 
Basket ball, 81 
Basketry, 57 
Bazaars, 90 
Bead work, 58 
Bent-iron work, 58 
Billiards, 82 
Bookbinding, 58 
Boxing, 82 
Boy Scouts, 97 
Boys' clubs, 98 



Calisthenics, 82 
Camp Fire Girls, 99 
Cantatas, 40 
Carnivals, 90 
Celebrations, 90 
Chair-caning, 59 
Charades, 91 

Checkers tournaments, 66 
Check-room, 71 
Chess matches, 66 

[ 



Choral singing, 41 
Civic clubs, 99 
Civics, 105 
Civil service, 106 
Classroom games, 82 
Clajr modeling, 59 
Clinics, 71 

Committee meetings, 99 
Community-center associa- 
tion, 100 
Community contests, 35 
Community fairs, 35 
Community institutes, 35 
Concerts, 42 
Conferences, 36 
Cooking, 106 
Cooperative buying, 71 
Crocheting, 59 
Current events, 107 

Dances, 91 
Debates, 66 

Declamation contests, 67 
Dialogues, 42 
Dramatic clubs, 100 
Dramatic-club tournaments, 

68 _ 
Drawing, 59 
Dressmaking, 59 
Drills, 83 

Embroidery, 60 
English for foreigners, 107 
English-grammar contests, 68 
Entertainments, 40 
Essay competitions, 68 
Esthetic dancing, 83 
Exhibition drills, 42 
Exhibitions, 36 

1251 



INDEX TO ACTIVITIES 



Fake athletic meet, 92 
Fancy work, 60 
Fathers' club, 100 
Feature dancing, 43 
Fencing, 83 
Festivals, 43 
First aid, 71, 108 
Folk dancing, 83 
Fortune-telling, 92 
Forum, 24 

Games, 76; Ball, 80 

Classroom, 82 

Miscellaneous, 85 

Singing, 87 

Table, 88 
Girl Scouts, 100 
Girls' clubs, 101 
Gymnastic competitions, 85 

Hammock-making, 60 
Health talks, 71 
HoUday celebrations, 44 
Household science and art, 
108 



Impersonations, 45 
Information bureau, 72 

Jewelry-making, 60 
Jiu jitsu, 85 

Jules Verne entertainment, 
46 



Kite-making, 61 
Knitting, 61 

Languages, 109 
Lantern slides, 46 
Leather work, 61 
Lectures, 36 
Legerdemain, 46 
Library station, 72 
Literature, 109 



Little mothers' clubs, 101 
Loan art exhibits, 37 



Masques, 46 
Memorial exercises, 27 
Millinery, 61 
MiiLstrels, 47 
Miscellaneous games, 85 
Mock auction, 92 
Mock city council, 27 
Mock county fair, 92 
Mock legislature, 28 
Mock naturalization hear- 
ings, 29 
Mock trials, 69 
Monologues, 47 
Mothers' club, 101 
Motion pictures, 47 
Music, 109 

Musical organizations, 102 
Musical sketches, 48 



Naturalization qualifications, 

110 
Neighborhood improvement 

association, 102 
New citizens' receptions, 29 
Newsboys' club, 102 
Nights of all nations, 48 

Operettas, 48 



Pageants, 48 
Painting, 62 
Pantomimes, 50 
Parent-teacher association, 

102 
Parties, 92 
Party games, 93 
Patriotic celebrations, 30 
Pronunciation matches, 69 
Public discussions, 31 
Pyrography, 62 

[126] 



INDEX TO ACTIVITIES 



Races, 86 
Raffia, 62 
Reading room, 72 
Readings, 50 

Receptions to officials, 33 
Refreshment service, 94 
Rehearsals, 50 
Roller-skating, 87 
Rug-making, 62 



School savings bank, 73 
Sewing, 62 
Sheet-metal work, 63 
Singing games, 87 
Singing-society contests, 50 
Society meetings, 33, 96 
Spelling bees, 69 
Stenciling, 63 
Story-telling, 51 
Story-telling contests, 69 
Study room, 73 
Stunt nights, 52 
Swimming, 87 



Tableaux, 52 

Table games, 88 

Taffy pulls, 94 

Talks, 38 

Team industrial contests, 38 

Theatricals, 52 

Trip around the world, 94 

Trip to the moon, 95 

Tumbling, 88 

Vaudeville, 54 

Vocational guidance bureau, 
73 

Water sports, 88 

Wax works, 54 

Welfare exhibits, 38 

Welsh Eisteddfod burlesque, 

55 
Wireless telegraphy, 63 
Woman's club, 103 
Wood-carving, 63 
Woodwork, 63 
Wrestling, 88 



[127] 



